


Point For Me

by AkisMusicBox



Category: Skip Beat!
Genre: Crossover, Don't copy to another site, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Guest Performance, Guest Stars, Rivalry, Singing, Takarada's meddling once again, idiots to friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2020-10-17 22:16:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 27,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20628407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkisMusicBox/pseuds/AkisMusicBox
Summary: Two stars get one week to plan and perform a crossover performance in LME's Crossover Challenges! Handpicked by President Takarada himself, the first match up is...Ren Tsuruga and Bridge Rock!Hikaru's not pleased.This was originally a one-shot, but tons of fantastic feedback lead me to making it a multi-chapter!





	1. Wrapped in Fashion

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks once again to the Skip Beat! Discord for answering my questions!
> 
> The song featured is called [Wrapped in Fashion by The Lafontaines](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO8OCNdn28E). Inspiration is from [this video](https://youtu.be/CqjRLlzM-YE) from Ren's English VA!

Hikaru frowned at the page in front of him. _ Not exactly inspiring of me, I know, but this...what am I supposed to do with this? _ The showrunner of Yappa Kimagure Rock had presented him with a task, direct from President Takarada's office. The president initiated the Crossover Challenges for all of LME - talents from all over the agency would be assigned to guest star on different LME properties, and Bridge Rock had been assigned with the very first crossover. Beyond the "character sheet" supplied, they had no direction for what the guest appearance had to be, however, Hikaru had been working long enough to realize that the assignment specifically to the band, and not the show, was telling enough. _ Takarada wants Tsuruga to sing. As if he needs to prove just how talented he is? _

The "character sheets" made it seem as if Takarada thought of his employees as members of a role-playing game, and Tsuruga's was completely useless. _ It's more like a profile for a dating website. One of the bullet points flat-out said "Brooding (see Dark Moon)". And this one just says "Drinking whiskey." _ He had heard about the president's eccentricities and that Tsuruga was basically his pet, but this was just...too much to deal with. _Like he needs to spend more time around Kyoko. _

Hikaru was positive this man was the cause of so much of her grief, and it irritated him to no end that he now had to cooperate with him. Tsuruga had passable vocal ability at best, but higher-pitched than one would have expected for his stature. _What am I supposed to do with him?_

The most professional and respectable man in show-business drummed his fingers against his arm impatiently as he stared around the studio, clearly not pleased with the assignment either. The snark he was capable of was simmering under the surface. _ Must not have appreciated the vocal test. He's not used to being bad at stuff, clearly. _

Somehow, that let an idea dawn on Hikaru. "Wait." He skimmed the playlist of approved covers on his computer. "You played piano in Dark Moon, right?"

"Some," he admitted. "You watched?"

"Of course I did! It was Kyoko's big break. We support each other here."

The irritation dissolved into shock. "We? Does...Mogami work on this show?"

Hikaru rolled his eyes. "She's the chicken. She's been Bo for at least a year now."

Tsuruga's mood turned sour. "She never told me that." His face became a stony slate, which Hikaru delighted in.

"Huh," was all he could respond, smugly. _You don't know her as well as you thought? Poor baby. _Slightly bolstered by the turn of events, he checked his playlist of approved covers and continued, "Like, how much piano do you know? Can you read sheet music?"

"To an extent," he admitted sulkily. "What do you have in mind?"

Hikaru passed him a pair of headphones. "Listen to this song and pay attention. Do you think you can hack it?"

Tsuruga took them wordlessly and listened. At first, he was stone-faced, but shortly his fingers started tapping as if he was playing an imaginary keyboard. When it reached the chorus, his grudges seemed to dissolve, piecing together Hikaru's plan. He snuck an appraising look at Hikaru and he smirked.

When the song ended, he took the headphones off and asked. "You rap?"

"Not historically. But I have a feeling we could both use the world seeing a different side...something that hasn't been captured on a single page. Can you handle that piano and the chorus?"

Tsuruga seemed amused. "Yes. I can memorize most of the piano by tomorrow."

_Ambitious._

"And this sheet," He gave it a disdainful shake, "claims you speak English. You can help me with my pronunciation?"

"Of course."

With that, it was settled. The rest of rehearsal was dedicated to Hikaru training Tsuruga's vocals, as he vowed he'd memorize the piano portion that evening with a borrowed keyboard and sheet music. Hikaru was curious to see if he could pull it off.

* * *

The next day, Hikaru didn't waste any time and set to have Tsuruga show off what he figured out. "Not terrible," he admitted as he finished. It was a positively solid performance, but there was a difference between playing by yourself and playing in sync with a band and singing at the same time. They started off practice with a rough play-through of the song without vocals. Then, Tsuruga drilled him on his pronunciation.

Halfway through rehearsal, Yuusei pulled Hikaru aside. "Aren't you going at him a bit hard? He is LME's golden goose, you'll not do us any favors by pissing him off."

"He's gotta be golden for a reason. It'd look bad on all of us if he's not flawless," Hikaru countered.

"I know, I know man. You just seem on edge... and more leader-y than usual. Like I can't remember the last time you actually gave an order, but now you're all about them."

"Well, I'm also older than him! So I've got to show strength. That's all."

Yuusei clearly hadn't been listening. "Riiiight. Dark Moon. And he's like her personal mentor, right? Got it, got it." He clapped Hikaru's shoulder. "Show him who's boss."

Hikaru sighed at being so obvious, but at least he had the freedom to drive rehearsals as he saw fit that week. Tsuruga didn't dare complain, and for that, Hikaru respected him. Clearly, whatever was bothering him meant he had something to prove. _To Kyoko? Seems likely._ _ Whatever the cause may be, he's leaning at a rapid pace, so we should be able to pull off this bizarre scheme. _

Considering Hikaru couldn't possibly emulate the Scottish accent of the original artist, Tsuruga proved essential in ensuring he sounded intelligible.

"The inflection on this has to be just right," he said, pointing to a line.

Hikaru frowned. "Some sort of English idiom? I don't see how it makes sense."

Tsuruga chuckled to himself. "Indeed. Pull it off correctly and your fans will stop seeing you at the 'sweet one' and more like a grown man."

"I'm _older_ than you!"

"Right, right." Tsuruga waved him off as he typed something into his phone and showed him the screen. "Here's the closest translation."

"_HUH?!"_ Hikaru squeaked. "Oh. Right. Okay, that's...that's a good call, makes sense."

Tsuruga chuckled. "That's what I thought. Get used to it now so your voice doesn't crack on stage."

Hikaru scowled. "I am _positive_ squeaky-clean Tsuruga has never said anything like that on TV or film. And all you have to do is repeat the chorus!"

"Fair enough. How about this - if this goes off well, celebratory drinks are on me."

_"I don't wanna say goodbye,_  
_turn my back,_  
_close my eyes._  
_I don't wanna say goodbye,_  
_turn my back,  
_ _close my eyes."_

Despite the simplicity of the lyrics, Tsuruga gave his all in practice and balanced it with his performance perfectly. _ He'll need more training for anything more, but he's not bad for a backup. _ The thought made him laugh. _Ren freaking Tsuruga is _my _backup. _He'd be incredibly honored if he wasn't so suspicious. Tsuruga had been doing his best to avoid Bo's sporadic appearances, and Bo maintained her "Bo-ness" as much as possible around him. _ She's gotta be sweating in that suit...what's the problem? Is she embarrassed to be a chicken? _ _Well, she trusts me with who she is. Point for me._

* * *

President Takarada appeared the day of the performance, covered head to toe in sequins, so Hikaru wasn't surprised of his shock that the stage was kept fairly barren besides some colored lighting and their instruments.

"This is the beginning of the Crossover Challenges!" he moaned to Tsuruga. "Couldn't you at least have some dancers?"

"Mr. President?" Hikaru offered and gestured as a piano was wheeled in.

"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow in approval. "Is that for him?"

"It is, sir," Hikaru assured. "Similar to the one used in Dark Moon, but Tsuruga will be dressed in the street fashion that Bridge Rock is known for. A nice reference for the fans, but more of a boy-ish aesthetic not often seen on Tsuruga-san."

"Very well, Ishibashi-kun," he nodded. "But...just blue lights?"

"No distractions, sir. I promise the talent put on display will be attention-grabbing enough, there's no need for additional flair that could detract." Hikaru even surprised himself at the amount of confidence in his voice.

Tsuruga's eyes were practically laughing. The president did. "Ha! I like your attitude. Better back it up!" He left with a wave.

"Shit," Hikaru swore. "Was that good or bad?"

Tsuruga clapped a hand on his shoulder. "If this goes off well, your favor with him will skyrocket. If it doesn't...well, you're good at interviews."

"This is your ass on the line too!" he squeaked.

Tsuruga's eyes shifted to something in the distance. "Don't I know it." Hikaru looked as well. It was Bo.

"If you keep staring at chickens like that, people are gonna get funny ideas about you, Tsuruga."

That garnered a proper laugh. "All right then, let's warm-up."

* * *

Bo introduced the performance with a series of cue cards for the audience to read in front of a blue curtain. When the chicken took her place in the audience, the curtain started to rise slowly, and Tsuruga began playing. A blue spotlight focused on him, sat at the piano bench as he played to the hushed whispers of the audience. When the lights rose, Hikaru began.

_"She's wrapped in fashion,_  
_but lost her style._  
_Miss Chanel can no longer smile._  
_Tears, she often cries,  
_ _tough heartbreaks, soft lullabies."_

A more audible chatter came from the audience as he began to rap, with a chip on his shoulder and brash confidence Tsuruga was able to help him polish. _ How a proper guy like him knows how to pull that off, I have no idea, but he was dead-on. _

_"Tough love is what it makes,_  
_when you push it to the limit to test the breaks._  
_The last note on the unwritten score,  
_ _what happens to the girl next door?"_

Hikaru took the time to work the stage, catching sight of Bo's stunned expression, wings pressed to beak in shock. He glanced to Tsuruga to see if he caught it. Despite being focused on the piano, he could see a satisfied glint in his eye. Hikaru grinned.

_"Let's take it back to the start,_  
_before he broke her heart,  
_ _before the fame came and tore them apart."_

Even Shinichi and Yuusei seemed to be enjoying themselves, as having a fourth added energy they hadn't possessed before. _And with Ren Tsuruga nonetheless._ The guys had at least had the courtesy to hide their excitement to work with such a famous actor until after Tsuruga left rehearsals.

_"Stick to the runway, a one-way pass,  
_ _everybody wanna tap that ass."_

Hikaru made sure to give a meaningful look on the last verse that made the audience squeal.

He caught Bo falling on his tail and Tsuruga giving a mirthful grin. He strode over to Tsuruga and cued him up.

_"She said,"_

_"I don't wanna say goodbye,_  
_turn my back,_  
_close my eyes._  
_I don't wanna say goodbye,_  
_turn my back,  
_ _close my eyes."_

The audience shrieked again, and Hikaru clapped him on the shoulder as he took back over. After that, Hikaru was able to have fun with the performance, confident in Tsuruga's abilities. So much so, he even risked joining him on the last verses, leaning against Tsuruga's back and harmonizing.

_"Turn my back and,  
_ _I close my eyes." _

The lights cut out. The audience roared.

* * *

Backstage, President Takarada wrapped Hikaru in a hug. "Ishibashi-kun, I never doubted you for a minute!" He shoved him back as if to appraise him like a father. "Your instincts were just right with excellent execution. And you got this guy to be a fairly competent pianist in a week? I'm duly impressed."

He then clapped Tsuruga on the shoulder. "Incredible. You're generally the star, Ren, so seeing you can properly support a lead in a whole new situation is fantastic...and gives me a lot of ideas."

"Thank you, thank you sir, but for once, can we rest on our laurels for a moment and let another crossover go next?" Tsuruga asked. "Besides, I think I owe Ishibashi a drink."

The band, Yashiro, and Takarada turned their attentions to Bo, who waddled in and froze once she saw their gathering. "I'll leave you to it," Takarada said mischievously. "Yashiro, please join me and humor my ideas." Yashiro followed obediently with a quick wave to Tsuruga.

"It's okay, Tsuruga. We can do a rain check if you've got other things to attend to," Hikaru said, feeling a bit more generous than usual.

"That's unnecessary. Besides, I think I could use some time without minors...no offense," he said to Shuichi and Yuusei, who frowned indignantly. Tsuruga led the way towards Bo, who held up her wings up, asking him to show mercy. Tsuruga flicked Bo's forehead. "We will chat later, Mogami-san." Bo stared, dumbstruck, and Hikaru could only spare an apologetic glance before following Tsuruga.

* * *

"Mogami-san, huh? I thought you two got along better than that," Hikaru said through a sour face as he tasted the whiskey Tsuruga recommended. "Even I get to call her Kyoko-chan."

He groaned and took a drink. "It's...baffling. She'll ask me to teach her how to walk like a model, cook in my kitchen, sleep in my guest room, but if I called her Kyoko-chan, her head would explode. Too familiar."

Hikaru furrowed his brow. "Seriously? Jeez, how do you not get whiplash?"

He pointed to his neck. "Constant pain since she's joined the agency...but I don't think I help matters. She's too fun to pick on."

"Is that it," Hikaru said rolling his eyes. "I'd argue she's too cute and too passionate to ignore."

"If that's what you're looking for, might I suggest her friend, Kotonami? More of an elegant beauty, but fire all the same," Tsuruga offered.

"Is she LoveMe too?"

"Most definitely."

"You're the more elegant one, so sounds like the better match then," Hikaru said, bracing himself for another sip. "I can't even manage to wrangle a date with Kyoko, so I don't think I could handle _that._" He coughed. "How do you handle _this_?"

"Practice," Tsuruga said with a chuckle. "I...have to apologize. I found out the source of these crossovers was my manager making an offhanded comment to the president about how much you stare at Bo during recordings, and somehow he took that information and ran with it. Mostly with the intention of pitting the two of us against each other."

Hikaru sighed. "I had a feeling it was something like that. But I'm not just going to back down because you're the president's favorite. She should be able to pick from all the options!"

"I'd be disappointed if you did! I actually don't mind you over all of her other pursuers."

"Pursuers? Don't you mean suitors?"

"At this point, they're more akin to dogs," he said, flatly. "She'd gut me if I said anymore. Fillet me, crisp my skin, and serve me with soy sauce."

"At least tell me _who,_ so I can keep them away from her at the studio!" Hikaru pressed. "She doesn't think about her safety enough. Some girl pushed her down the stairs once and she didn't tell anyone!"

Tsuruga gritted his teeth. "Sounds about right. Fine, I'll send you names and pictures. You see them, you throw them out on sight. And then call me."

"Only if you do the same!" Hikaru argued.

"Very well." He grabbed his phone and started typing out the information. As he did, he laughed at himself. "My life used to be simple before she joined the agency. Then again, my career would have gone to hell if she wasn't around." He sighed and finished his glass.

"That sounds like a lie if I've ever heard one," Hikaru said, trying to imitate him, only for it to burn. He coughed again. Tsuruga sighed and signaled the bartender to bring two more.

"I am not exaggerating if I said I am the man I am today because of her," he confessed. "And I'm only admitting it because I think you'd understand, but...Katsuki." Two more glasses appeared, and Tsuruga took a long drink.

"What about him? He was amazing, better than the original."

"Because Kyoko helped me. I was _completely _lost because I didn't know how to play a man in love, nonetheless a man in love with someone he couldn't have."

_"No,"_ Hikaru whispered. "You've totally...welp..._oh_, you really haven't played one before."

"Are you a _fan_ of mine, Ishibashi?" he asked gleefully.

"_Everybody is._ Everybody's your fan!" he argued. "I'm not too proud to admit that you're good at your job."

He snorted. "Right. Sorry, I'll admit to being the prideful one. Thinking I know everything when I didn't know what it meant to be in love. Until...until I let myself understand what about Kyoko maddened and intrigued me at the same time. To let myself love, and to love the one who has sworn it off." He took another drink. "If I couldn't have found that, I was shattered. Done for. The world would have seen me as a fraud."

"Jeez...that is heavy." Hikaru contemplated his glass. "Doesn't mean I'm gonna back down. You can get sympathy from your friends, drink your sorrows away with them."

"Friends? What friends?" he gestured around the bar. "Where do you see these 'friends' of mine? I spend all of my time working, or with Kyoko. So you can consider my friend group the girl I'm in love with and my manager. And maybe Kijima, but he also tried to get with the girl I'm in love with."

Hikaru winced. "Are you _kidding me?_"

"Absolutely not! It's why I like you just fine, you're at least more honest than Kijima."

Hikaru blinked, then sighed. "Alright. We're having a guys' night on Thursday. It's mostly just pizza, video games, and messing around with instruments at Yuusei's house, but you're coming."

Tsuruga gave him a puzzled look. "I'll have to check my schedule....why?"

"Rearrange your schedule. Consider it a mental health appointment. You got betrayed by a girl in a chicken suit because you didn't know she _was_ said chicken, that's gotta be a sign of something."

He frowned. "I told that chicken some fairly personal information, and still, it seems the chicken is willfully ignorant."

Hikaru deadpanned. "You told. The chicken. No one else in the world besides a mascot? You hear how sad that is, right? You're coming so you can make some real friends. Like Shuichi and Yuusei! Zero romantic interest in Kyoko-chan."

Tsuruga grinned, genuine relieve flooding his face. _Co-star killer. That'll do it. _"I'll tell Yashiro to clear my schedule." He sounded almost giddy. He grabbed his phone, only to open a message. "So I don't like to check online reviews, and just have Yashiro condense what he finds. Want to know what Japan's thought of our performance?"

"Yes, please!"

"Alright...right now, the internet is tied between wanting me to play them like a piano with fingers like that, or wanting to tap Hikaru-chan's ass."

"WHAT?!"

"Yes, these get quite lewd. However, that tends to be a good sign, as that means they've found nothing real to complain about. Comments about Katsuki got _rather_ graphic, considering he was an authority figure." He grew a devilish grin. "Are you ready to hear the third trending sentiment?"

Hikaru took a drink. "Now I am."

"We are a _fantastic_ couple and a petition is forming to pressure the government to legalize same-sex marriage so we can be wed as soon as possible."

"Are you _kidding_ me?!"

"I am most _certainly not_. That lean is being analyzed by countless viewers, Mr. Improv," he teased.

"It _works with the lyrics!_ And it's symbolic as shit!"

"I entirely agree, but, it never stops the speculation." A playful look crossed his face. "What if...we played into it? Just a bit? Just enough to yank at Kyoko's pigtails?"

"A picture?" Hikaru asked.

"Indeed." They leaned together and raised their glasses towards Tsuruga's phone, as if telling the camera "cheers". He snapped the picture. "Yashiro will know what to do with this."

* * *

"Moko-san, pleeeaasssee!" Kyoko whined. "I don't _know _what that picture is supposed to mean!"

"Of the people who know both of them, you know them best! You told me they were incredibly tense all week, and now, they're all chummy!" Kanae gave her a probing glare. "Everyone is going _crazy_ online, so this is going to affect LME! What changed?"

"The...camaraderie of a successful performance?" she said, rubbing the back of her neck. "They were both under incredible pressure, so maybe it's just relief?"

Kanae growled. "You expect me to believe that _Ren Tsuruga_ caved into the pressure of one song? Preposterous! If you want to lie to me, tell me something - wait. Did Tsuruga know you were Bo?"

"No," she squeaked.

"So Ishibashi knew something about you that Tsuruga didn't..." she concluded, and then scowled. "Hell, Kyoko, you're hopeless."

"MOOKKOOO!?" Kyoko tried to lunge at her, clawing for answers, but Kanae threw an arm up to block her assault and started texting with her other hand.

_ "Hope you're happy with that little stunt, Yashiro-san. Kyoko's more confused than ever." _

The reply was instant.

"_:D"_


	2. A Series of Tangents and Ball-Busting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what? I've taken a perfectly good one-shot and turned it into a multi-chapter fic! Hope ya'll are horny for male friendships, 'cause that's what you're going to get!

Hikaru downed the rest of his beer as he tried to understand how Ren Tsuruga ended up curled up in a ball on Yuusei's floor, fast asleep. _He only had one beer. He's not hammered, at least._ The idea of getting this monolith of a man drunk enough to pass out was fairly unbelievable as well, but Hikaru's night had been full of fairly unbelievable things, so perhaps this wasn't the strangest thing. The hood of his sweatshirt was pulled over his head, letting Hikaru only get a small glimpse of his features. He didn't _seem_ unwell, and his chest was rising and falling in a rhythm that told him he was still breathing normally. It was 2 a.m., but late nights like this weren't allowed to phase guys in show business. _ Maybe...it's still Kyoko-chan? Did their conversation wipe him out this badly? _

When Ren had arrived at Yuusei's apartment, head to toe in black and concealed face giving off the air of a walking corpse, Hikaru nearly slammed the door in his face. However, Ren held out a six-pack wordlessly and Hikaru made the connection. He took the beverages and Ren entered, pulling his hood down. "Ya look dead, man," Shinichi hollered, throwing another slice of pizza on his paper plate. "Troubles with your cock?"

The corpse animated and his eyes lit with indignation bordering on rage. Yuusei chimed in with, "I'm gonna give you the same advice I do every time Karu strikes out with Kyoko-chan - take two and call your therapist in the morning." He swung open the fridge door and gestured to their stockpile of beer.

_ Right. He needed to talk to her about the Bo-thing. But why would he wait until today? _ Ren let the offer blow by him as he approached the table. "And how would you assume that was the case?" He said, his anger backing off enough to let himself test the waters. _ He's feeling out the room. Trying to figure out what sort of crowd he's with. _ Hikaru braced himself as he took the six-pack to the fridge and fished out one of Ren's and one of his.

Unfortunately for Tsuruga, Yuusei wasn't one of the types to beat around the bush. "Listen, man, even in this day and age I get that it's hard to admit you like cock, but you don't gotta take it in all at once. _Ease_ into it, and everyone will get comfortable. Look, I'll even get you started." He turned to Shinichi and gave him an impassioned look. "I can't take it any longer! I have to tell you how I can't stop staring at your glossy, red comb."

Without missing a beat, Shinichi matched his expression and said, "Your crisp, white feathers remind me of an angel's wings."

Yuusei took a step towards Shinichi. "Late at night, I dream about the day you'll take me in your arms and beak me hard."

Shinichi reached out and put a hand on Yuusei's shoulder. "I want you to make me crow first thing in the morning."

Tsuruga's face had turned into an impassive stone slate, except for the eye that twitched ever so slightly. Hikaru returned to his side and offered him one of Hikaru's beers. "You'll know you're truly accepted into the group when they call you a chicken fucker. It takes true love and respect to get someone to be direct with you." Hikaru tentatively cracked Tsuruga's beer and drank it.

Tsuruga snorted.

With that, he had rejoined the living and helped himself to a slice of terrible pizza and one of Hikaru's beers. Between messing around with guitars and online shooter games, Tsuruga gradually drip-fed them details of his and Kyoko's conversation, and it became clear that Kyoko might have possession of some sensitive information, but Kyoko didn't understand exactly what that information _meant._ _ Did he confess to the chicken that he's in love with Kyoko? But she didn't get it? _ Hikaru soon figured out how something like that could be misconstrued - Tsuruga had a penchant for making certain details just ambiguous enough that someone with as criminally low self-esteem as Kyoko could misunderstand.

Hikaru had been concerned that his bandmates would eventually take Tsuruga's side in the struggle for Kyoko's heart, but they were masters of the shit-eating, sideways response, picking out the most minute detail to poke at to move the conversation along. "With that get-up, I'm not surprised she didn't understand what you were getting at. One look at you and I'm compelled to surrender my keys and wallet on the spot."

The smile Tsuruga flashed was terrifying.

"The _hell_, dude!" Shinichi said as he jumped back. "I am almost _positive _you've never played a role that creepy, how'd you _do_ that?"

"_Almost_ isn't one hundred percent, then," he replied. "First, it'd be incredibly negligent of me to not work on a variety of characters. And second, stage names are fairly common, Ishibashi _brothers_."

"Fair enough, but are you tellin' me that you played like, a boogeyman, under some stage name and nobody's leaked that info yet?" Yuusei countered. "Your fanbase would _die." _

"I'm not _telling_ you anything about the roles I've taken. I am telling you that there are ways to keep that information from as many people as possible, and that is _commitment."_

Shinichi smirked. "_Challenge accepted._ If I figure it out, I get to borrow your Porsche for a day."

Tsuruga gave him a bemused look. "When did that turn into a _challenge?"_

"Sounds like you're nervous..." Shinichi prodded. Yuusei nodded in agreement.

"Fine. You only get one guess, but I won't impose a time limit. Take as long as you need."

They shook on it.

And somehow, a series of tangents and ball-busting like that lead Tsuruga to crashing in the middle of the floor for a good twenty minutes before trying to apologize for it. Shinichi and Yuusei responded by lambasting him for him not having their phone numbers, which they remedied shortly before he set on his way. Hikaru didn't even bother to try and go home himself and instead passed out on the couch because if he didn't, he'd be kept up all night trying to figure out what the hell was going on with Ren Tsuruga.


	3. A Serious Accusation

In short order, the president changed the rules of the Crossover Challenges, opening them up to participants from all over the entertainment industry, and scrapping the bracket altogether. Each successive crossover would somehow link to the one before it, he decided, letting him pick Itsumi Momose to cross over to a dancing show. Momose's agent requested a meeting with Hikaru and Tsuruga, so they met the next day for lunch. Yashiro and Momose's agent quickly got distracted with urgent calls, leaving the three of them at the table. Hikaru started to grow suspicious.

"Did you two have to set the bar so high?" Momose sighed into her coffee. "President Takarada revamped the entire thing because of your performance. It's not easy to hit a moving target."

Tsuruga chuckled. "I apologize, Momose-san. Admittedly, I don't know of another kind of performance that wouldn't have been an embarrassment to both of us. I fear you'll start cursing my name soon for any future joint projects."

She smirked. "I suppose if it's for the best possible performance, I can manage. But there is something to be said about adaptability going underappreciated."

He held his hands up innocently. "I promise, I very much appreciate it." They soon saw Yashiro gesturing toward Ren, and he excused himself to join his manager.

"I mean no ill-will, Ishibashi-san. I just...must confess it's fun to tease Tsuruga-san."

Hikaru smiled. "I've found that as well, to see how long he can keep his courtesy up."

She grinned, so he decided to ask, "Were you referring to your work on Dark Moon earlier? Tsuruga mentioned that he struggled for a time."

She was almost amused. "Well, if he confided at least that to you, then I think it's okay to say...he was just _paralyzed._ The scene with the broken teacup just stopped him dead in his tracks. But then a few days later, he came back and blew me away. It was infuriating and brilliant at the same time."

He took a drink of his beer. _Paralyzed? Shit, worse than I thought._

"I just feel bad that I couldn't do anything for him. So, props to you for figuring out how to make an actor a rock star, not just look like one." She lifted her glass to him, and he gave her a tiny bow of his head.

"Why thank you, but really, it was just the right song. And Dark Moon showed that he can play piano, and show a more mischievous side, so it was just a matter of putting those front and center."

She pursed her lips in contemplation and brushed her silky hair off of her shoulder. "That's...a thought. That might be a way to tie the two performances together." Speaking more to herself than anything, she asked, "What about Mizuki wasn't displayed prominently in the show?"

Hikaru nodded and addressed his plate. He knew fairly well how a creative could get lost in their own thoughts, so he wanted to give Momose the time to follow that line. Instead, her eyes darted to him. "What, do you have an answer to my question?"

"No! No, just letting you work. I mean...actually, I figured it was a bit rhetorical. More about 'how' than 'what.'"

"Tell me, what do you think is the 'what'? What is it about Mizuki that caught your attention?" Her eyes sparked at him in a way that made his face burn.

"Well, she's...she's not innocent! Like, as much as Katsuki portrays this excellent predator, seductive at the start, but his more vicious nature becomes apparent, Mizuki sees all of that and she just like _goes with it._" He shook his head. "I know, sounds a bit victim-blame-y, but there are times were Mizuki didn't have to seek him out. Where Mizuki had reason to leave or opt-out, and she didn't. As much as she's a being of pure light, she still casts a shadow. She _wants _to play with fire."

Momose watched him with rapt attention, leaning forward and resting her head on her hands. He blushed harder. "Sorry. I mean, when you're writing lyrics, you kinda gotta use flowery language and think in big pictures, so I just kinda do that by default."

Her face lit up. "No! Don't apologize. That's...that's right. That's what I was trying to portray." She tucked her hair behind her ear. "I know we got good reviews, but it's still nice to hear things like that. To make sure the message got across, at least to one person." She nodded to herself. "I like that imagery." Her eyes flicked up to him. "I knew this lunch was a good idea. Can I borrow your phone?"

Without thinking, he handed it over. _ Wait, does her manager have her phone? That'd be kind of silly, she was using her phone when she left the table. You don't need two phones... _

Momose handed it back, open to his contacts, and the new entry, "Momose-chan <3".

His eyes went wide.

"Get ahold of me after my Challenge week," she smiled as he saw Tsuruga and Yashiro returning. "Whoever gets better reviews gets treated to dinner by the other."

"O-okay. Yeah. Yes!" He looked quickly to Tsuruga as he stuffed his phone back in his pocket. "The lost is found!"

"I'm sure you were terribly concerned," he teased.

"Deepest apologies, merely resolving a scheduling conflict," Yashiro said with a small bow. "It seems your manager hasn't returned either, Momose-san?"

"It's fairly typical. She's rather verbose on phone calls, so I typically get her food boxed up. Though, at least this time Ishibashi-san preventing me from dining alone."

"Happy to help!" he squeaked.

* * *

"This is a serious accusation, Hikaru," Yuusei said, gesturing with his bottle. "Have you any evidence to back it up?" They were surrounding the coffee table, back in Yuusei's apartment. Most of the pizza was gone, and so was half of the beer, so it seemed as good of a time as any for Hikaru to air his grievances.

"Yes," he said adamantly, opening the contact on his phone. "She did this before the meal was even _over._ It had to be a setup by Tsuruga to try and get me to stop pursuing Kyoko-chan."

"Do you really considering what you're doing 'pursuing'?" Shinichi asked. Hikaru punched him in the shoulder.

Yuusei turned to Tsuruga. "Your defense?"

"The heart and the '-chan' is too on the nose for my tastes," he said flatly. "One or the other, if I'm putting someone up to the task." He gave Hikaru a bemused smirk. "Are you really so full of self-doubt that you don't think it's possible she decided to see you of her own volition?"

Hikaru shrugged. "I'm not you, dude, I know that. It's fishy that you returned _juuuust_ at the right time."

Shinichi shook his head dismissively. "So far, I'm not hearing much foul play. Neither of you have scored with Kyoko-chan, and now Mizuki's knocking at your door, for whatever reason, and you're complaining? Tsuruga got paid to kiss on her for _weeks _and they never dated. You're getting dinner, bare minimum, so that's already one-up on him."

Tsuruga crossed his arms. "I hate to argue against my own defense, but kissing someone on stage doesn't _mean_ anything. In that environment, it couldn't possibly be an indicator of actual romantic chemistry."

Yuusei raised an eyebrow. "That does _not _sound accurate. Your face is still on their face several times. Please, elaborate on how you want to destroy your own defense."

He rolled his eyes. "It'd be easier to demonstrate. I need a volunteer."

"I'm judge, Hikaru's plaintiff, so Shin-chan it is."

"Dammit!" Shinichi swore. He moved next to Tsuruga and took a deep breath. "Do your worst."

In the next moment, Tsuruga was Katsuki. His eyes smoldered as he leaned ever so slightly towards Shinichi. Yuusei and Hikaru watched in rapt attention as Tsuruga reached a hand towards him. Before Tsuruga even touched his jaw, Shinichi laughed.

With that, Tsuruga was back. He shrugged and said, "See what I mean? It's even more ridiculous on set, even with seasoned professionals."

"Alright, now that you've sufficiently proven that it wasn't just Hikaru's animal magnetism, I'm going to give my ruling," Yuusei said. He locked eyes with Hikaru.

"I know you sincerely care about Kyoko-chan. But quite frankly, her head is nowhere near thoughts of dating right now. And a smart, insightful, successful girl is showing you some attention right now. Were you even thinking of Kyoko when you were with Momose?"

Hikaru sighed. "No. No, I wasn't."

Yuusei nodded. "The universe works in mysterious ways. Maybe, Kyoko was your ticket to Tsuruga, and Tsuruga your ticket to Momose. Who knows? But, you won't if you dismiss her out of hand because she's not got wings and a beak. Reserve judgment until after her performance, at least."

_He has a point._ "Fine. I'll decide after." Tsuruga looked satisfied.

Yuusei turned his gaze to Tsuruga. "Do you _really_ think that was your victory? You're still in feathery hell."

Tsuruga took a drink of his beer. "Don't I know it."


	4. Skip To The 'Doing' Part Of It

Hikaru wasn't quite sure why he'd been invited out this time, but having Ren Tsuruga invite you out for a drink wasn't an invitation you passed up, even if his manager was included.

Admittedly, Hikaru liked Yashiro just fine, for the brief time he met him, but he'd freely admit to having his suspicions. _ Tsuruga said he was the closest thing he had to a friend, so what's the deal? Why aren't they actually friends? _

Hikaru himself like the band's manager just fine, but before Bridge Rock became big enough to require a manager, Hikaru had handled most of the "boring" work. Shinichi and Yuusei had sworn their eternal loyalty and tithed ten percent of their pizza in perpetuity for that. _I guess being an actor is a bit more lonely in that regard. _

Tsuruga and Yashiro were already in the booth sitting across from each other, so Hikaru took a seat next to Tsuruga. "Yashiro-san, Tsuruga, good to see you again."

"Ishibashi-san, thank you for joining us! I hope you've been able to recover from the Challenge week by now?" Yashiro asked with a warm smile. A server delivered the first round of drinks - three glasses of brown liquor found their homes in front of each of them. Hikaru suppressed a sigh. _Dammit, Tsuruga. _Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Tsuruga smirk just for a moment before he took a drink.

"Things have slowed down considerably, but I can't help but be excited for the next one. Have they announced the professional dance Momose-san will be partnering with?" Hikaru took a drink as well, and to his relief, found the whisky rather smooth, with a smokey aftertaste. _Well, that was at least nice of him to spring for the fancy stuff._

"They have! His name is Li Moto. He's been in the industry for about ten years now, but I'm fairly certain he was selected not just for his skills, but his height being fairly close to Ren's. I think the President was hoping to evoke a similar physical silhouette to Katsuki and Mizuki." Yashiro pushed his glasses up and gave a conspiratorial smile. "Rest assured, Moto-san is a happily married man."

Hikaru furrowed his brow. "What are you -"

"Yashiro, please," Ren said, almost a sigh. "I had something I wanted to talk about. Not the Challenge. Please."

"Of course, Ren, please," Yashiro said, voice softening.

Tsuruga's eyes found a safe spot on the table and clutched his watch-clad wrist. "First...I wanted to apologize. You so often go above and beyond the duties of a manager, not only handling my professional life, but...so many of my personal problems. My moods, my relationships, all of these...areas I don't want to talk about. I don't think...I don't think I've ever shown you enough appreciation for that."

Yashiro's grasp on his glass softened. He almost looked hurt. "Ren, I - I... I don't do this all because I'm your manager. I...I consider us friends."

Tsuruga started twisting his watch. "I do as well, but realistically, have I been treating you like that? When's the last time I've properly just talked to you? About _your _life, not just the latest bullshit drama in my life. It's always a role or Kyoko. And do I really even talk to you about Kyoko, or do I just groan and deny? I've told my competition more about my conversation with 'Bo' than I have you!" He gestured to Hikaru with his glass.

_Should I even be here? The hell is going on? _ Hikaru took another drink.

Yashiro swallowed. "I...perhaps you'd feel inclined to share if I actually inquired as a friend, not some sort of nosy parental figure. You already hear enough from Takarada, I'm sure it's easy to just lump my behavior in with his."

Ren gave a wry smile. "I don't know if I ever gave you a chance. I came to you a moody teenager and I don't know if I ever left that behind."

It was Yashiro's turn to chuckle. "Someone had to stay young. I apparently decided to jump straight into acting like an old man after you became my client."

"I'm positive my attitude required it, so for that, I am sorry and -"

_Oh. I'm his moral support. He's terrible at this._

"Pro strat, folks," Hikaru cut in. "Don't waste time on exposition when it's clear you fundamentally want the same thing. Maybe just skip to the 'doing' part of it."

"Ah, right," Tsugrua said, finally releasing the death grip on his wrist. "How was your day, Yashiro?"

"Wrong," Hikaru corrected. "Work talk. Focus on what you're either consuming or currently doing until you find a decent topic."

"See why I invited him, Ya-Yukihito?" Tsuruga said. "Even when he was quiet, if I said something wrong, it'd be obvious. No poker face, no tactful phrasing."

Hikaru gave him a soft golf clap. "Ah, Tsuruga-the-ball-buster, you've arrived. Nice to see you, chickenfucker."

Yashiro's eyes went wide, but he couldn't help but snort. "I actually...think I have a topic. It's about a girl, and it's not about Kyoko."

_That's more like it_, Hikaru thought as he took another sip. Ren motioned for Yashiro to continue.

"It is...about Kotonami," he said, burying his face in his glass.

Hikaru rolled his eyes. _ What is with the LoveMe girls? Oh well, it's probably the best tangent we can get with these two. _

"Kotonami?" Tsuruga asked. "And it's not work-related?"

Yashiro...blushed. The beginnings of a blush, at least, rose on his cheeks, and he seemed to shrink a bit. "Well...I had a date last week, and....well, I was stood up."

"Kotonami stood you up?" Tsuruga said, raising an eyebrow.

Yashiro waved a hand. "No, no, the date was with a sound engineer. She's cute, and I guess it was a bit impulsive to ask her out, not knowing her very well. While I was waiting, I happened to spy Kotonami at a table across the restaurant with an older gentleman."

"Her father?" Tsuruga asked.

"My assumption at first, but it became fairly obvious not, so I felt...compelled to observe. His tone turn...rather belligerent, so I approached the table to speak with him and it...ended poorly. The older man stormed out and after a rather...tense discussion with Kotonami herself I....ended up having dinner with her. Well, she finished her meal, I had a drink, and then I tried to buy her dessert, but she insisted we go to an ice cream stand that she liked better and..." As he spoke, he seemed to turn more into jelly. _Swooning. Is he swooning at the memory?_

"You had a date with Kanae Kotonami," Tsuruga said, impressed. Hikaru couldn't help but be as well. _Kyoko is one thing, but Kotonami can be...positively terrifying._

Yashiro buried his head in his hands. "It was...amazing. Time slipped away, and she was so clever and thoughtful and her smile..." he sighed. "I still think about it. But now, it comes followed by 'She's not eighteen yet!' and 'You perverted old man!' Ugh, Ren, I honestly feel terrible for how I've been disregarding your concerns about Kyoko's age. Even when it isn't _purely_ an issue of legality, it's so hard to not consider the age gap. What if she thinks I'm a predator!?"

"Kotonami's birthday is only a month away..." Tsuruga said sympathetically.

"So then, it's all fine," Hikaru offered. "She was on a date with an obviously older man, so that makes you younger than him, easily. Ask to take her out for her birthday. If she says yes, great! If not, oh well. You've already proven you're not an asshole, so like, she knows you won't hold it against her if she says no."

Yashiro cocked his head as if gears were clicking into place. Hikaru let him be for the moment and turned to Tsuruga. "Sounds like he's grade-A fucked."

Tsuruga laughed.

Yashiro put his tongue to his lip. "Ren, if I may...do you mind if I take a few lunches with her? In...in a business capacity?"

Hikaru pointed at him in warning. Yashiro held up his hands. "Let me...let me explain. But, my speculation _never leaves this table_, okay? She's a young actress with a rather large family. Even though she works consistently, pay is dictated in this industry on your reputation and tenure, and therefore, some actresses take on different...kinds of roles. To be a friend, or a daughter for an hour or two. Sometimes accompany someone to a wedding or a business party. Dates."

"Oh," Hikaru gasped. Tsuruga pressed his lips together.

"I know of some voice over work that might do nicely. It's a regular schedule and requires a quick study with perfect diction. It's kind of a grind, to be honest, but I'm sure...I'm sure it'd be more pleasant than faking a smile for some bastard with cash."

"Bastard?" Tsuruga asked, amused. "Lonely and rude, to be sure, but I never thought I'd hear you call a stranger a 'bastard.'"

Yashiro scowled. "If you saw his behavior, you'd think the same thing. Especially if it was directed at someone....someone so..."

Ren turned to Hikaru. "Judge? How's it gonna play out?"

"Well...she sounds proud, so maybe just pass along the information, and if she has questions, then lunch. Act like it's an offer for all LoveMe members, but make sure she's the only one around, so she can act first. If that plays off well, then you can still ask her out later on."

Yashiro gave a weak smile. "This is already tiring, and it's only been a week. Aren't you exhausted, Ren?"

"Almost constantly." He shrugged.

Hikaru rolled his eyes. "How do you all make this so complicated? It's like you go out of your way to make things confusing."

They laughed. Hikaru finished his drink and waved to the server for another. _ Well, if I've gotta help them untangle so much nonsense, the least they can do is keep me hydrated. _


	5. Your Plight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN!

After a particularly arduous day in the studio, Yuusei declared that beef bowls were required, and so was the conversation of someone decidedly not in the music industry, so Tsuruga joined as well. Yashiro passed, however, citing having to review contracts for some of Tsuruga's recent offers.

"What a slave driver," Shinichi chided after a bite. "Can't even let his agent have dinner with the boys."

Tsuruga scowled. "I personally fund his yearly week-long vacations to visit his family in Okinawa."

"Ah, yes, Yashiro-san's breaks are would have to be far away from you, makes sense," Yuusei said with a drink of his beer.

Hikaru held a spoon up. "Boys, boys, they did do some grade-A catharting yesterday, consider it progress."

"Fair enough," Shinichi conceded. "Gotta keep the spice alive as long as you can in new relationships. Two dates back to back will ruin things, you'll run out of stuff to talk about."

Hikaru shook his head incredulously. "I don't _get_ that dude. If you like a girl, you should want to see her the next day. You're weird."

Shinichi held his hands up defensively. "It's _different_ if you spent the night together, obviously, but just a date? Don't rush things. Build up that anticipation, dude. You blow your emotional load too quickly." He pointed his beer at Tsuruga. "Settle this one for us. You go on a date with a girl, like a movie and drinks, and you go your separate ways for the evening. Text her the next day, or wait forty-eight hours?"

Tsuruga stirred his bowl. "My past behavior doesn't necessarily indicate what my conduct would be nowadays."

Yuusei rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, you're going to marry Kyoko-chan the instant she consents to go on a date with you. Give us the average, how long did you wait?"

Tsuruga's expression flattened. "Three days."

All three Ishibashis gave a low whistle. "In my defense," Tsuruga continued. "They would normally text me back before that. I thought that was appropriate, to ensure the woman was comfortable with her experience. If I still seemed approachable after that, then I knew my status and presence weren't overwhelming."

"Or they were going insane because they thought Ren Tsuruga was blowing them off," Yuusei pointed out.

"And what about you?" Tsuruga pressed with narrow eyes at Yuusei. "I haven't heard your answer yet."

"I don't date," Yuusei said, taking a drink. "People like me don't get to just go on dates casually when you're in the industry."

Tsuruga sat his spoon down and folded his hands. "I apologize, Yuusei-san. I...understand your plight."

_No way. No...no way, _ Hikaru thought. However, his demeanor seemed to indicate his sincerity. Hikaru's gaze softened as he asked, "Tsuruga, are you...?"

Tsuruga found a safe spot on the table to look at as he explained sheepishly, "I consider myself someone who falls for a person, not necessarily a gender. But, it would have been fairly problematic for my career to be that honest, so I've only publically dated women. I don't date anyone now, but..." He shrugged.

Yuusei nodded in solidarity. "If you wanna be public, you gotta be like, ten thousand percent committed, and honestly, it's hard to find anyone worth risking your career over. So you just don't."

Ren perked up a bit and looked at Yuusei. "I may have a suggestion if you're interested. I've done a lot of work in the modeling industry, and there's an understanding of the need for secrecy. Even someone like myself was able to find confidentiality, so if you'd like, I can make a few calls..." He waved a hand.

Yuusei chuckled. "Really? Fuck it, yeah. Cast a line, see if anyone bites."

Shinichi cocked an eyebrow at Yuusei. "Really? Like, you're good eating leftovers off of Tsuruga's plate?"

Yuusei scoffed. "' Course I am. Guarantee those leftovers are better than the scraps I've been trying to content myself with. Beggers sure ain't choosers."

"What about you, Hikaru-san? Are you as incurably vanilla as Shinichi-san appears to be?"

Shinichi made a face, then stuffed his mouth with another bite of beef.

Hikaru pondered the question for a moment. "I haven't really thought about it? Can you be agnostic, but for like this stuff?"

Yuusei rolled his eyes, and Tsuruga laughed, another proper belly laugh that caused him to wipe his eye with the heel of his hand.

Hikaru thought he should be offended, but getting Tsuruga to laugh like that softened the blow. "Okay, I have no idea if there's a term for it, but it's like you go up to the ice cream counter and you're like 'oh, that one looks good' and 'huh, that might be tasty' but others your like 'nope, that's not for me'".

"And what he's saying as that most of the ones he knows he's gonna like have boobs," Shinichi finished.

Yuusei palmed his forehead. "Hell, Shin-chan, stick with the metaphor for _once."_

Still smiling, Tsuruga looked at Hikaru. "I believe I understand, I just find it intriguing that you haven't thought about it. How do you just _not_ think about it until you have an answer?"

Hikaru shrugged. "Okay, I could burn the brainpower -" Yuusei snorted, Hikaru shot him a look and continued, "figuring out a _classification_ for myself, or I could just focus on if I like someone right now. And the answer to that is, yes, it's -"

Hikaru's phone buzzed on the table. Four pairs of eyes darted to the screen.

_"Momose-chan <3"_

"Speak of an angel," Shinichi said reverently. "That was _uncanny!_"

"You were saying," Tsuruga prodded with a smirk, but Hikaru couldn't pay him too much mind as he scooped up his phone. The text simply read, _"Costume fitting"_ and a picture was attached. He opened it.

Long blonde hair was held into a ponytail by a slender, bare arm, exposing the length of her neck. A halter neckline formed a diamond on the pale skin of her back, and straps wrapped around her waist. Thin, studded belts encircled her hips over black shorts that barely covered her curvaceous bottom. A peek of lace was all that was hinted to cover lower on her leg before the photo was cut off. Shinichi had stood up to peer over the table.

"Damn!"

Hikaru turned the phone away, only for Yuusei to catch a glimpse and "Damn," as well. "I'm gay, not blind."

Hikaru pressed the phone to her chest. "Oh, don't be unfair, let me see," Tsuruga egged. "I want to see if I can spot her tattoo."

"Tattoo?" Hikaru exclaimed, examining the picture once again. _What tattoo? Where is it? And how does Tsuruga know about it?_

"Impressive outfit, I'm sure that took some time," Tsuruga appraised as he looked over Hikaru.

His face burning, Hikaru skimmed the copious amounts of exposed skin, then glared at Tsuruga. "Does she have a tattoo?"

He shrugged again, barely containing a laugh. Hikaru ripped his phone away again, tempted to delete the message, but instead, typed out. _ "And the front? I'd hate to miss out on seeing the detailed craftsmanship of the costume." _

After smashing "Send", Hikaru pointed to Tsuruga. "You're an ass."

Tsuruga grinned and opened his mouth to respond when Hikaru's phone buzzed again.

_"Later. At the Challenge ;)"_


	6. All The Good Stuff

"Eat up!" Kyoko said, beaming and pointing to the table filled with food. "There was a really good sale at the store yesterday, so I couldn't help myself!"

"Thanks for the food!" The Ishibashis said in unison, in a way that made the hairs on the back of Hikaru's arm stand up. _Okay, that was even creepy for me, but Kyoko seemed charmed by it._ He grabbed a rice ball and took a bite as other Yappa Kimigure Rock crew members drifted their way over.

Shinichi was grinning. "Remind me to date someone in the restaurant industry next time. That's how you got so good at this, right, Kyoko-chan?" But Kyoko was already distracted smiling and bowing politely as more people drifted over. Shinichi and Yuusei left to speak with a camera operator, so Hikaru worked on constructing a compliment in his head. Then, he remembered, _ "She'll ask me to teach her how to walk like a model, cook in my kitchen, sleep in my guest room, but if I called her Kyoko-chan, her head would explode. Too familiar." _

_ So what if she cooks for him? He's hopeless when it comes to that. I'm an adult who can cook for myself just fine. She shouldn't feel obligated to do all of the kitchen work. _

"Hikaru-kun!" Kyoko said as she made her way over to him. "What do you think? Is it to your liking?"

"Of course! Delicious, and - and food made by a friend is always a treat." _Dammit! What was I going to say?_

She grinned demurely, the smallest flush reaching her cheeks. It made him feel borderline guilty. "Great! That's great. I've had some free time on my hands lately, didn't want my skills to get rusty."

"You work at a restaurant, right?" Hikaru asked, furrowing his brow.

"Oh! Yes, but Taisho does most of the cooking. I normally cooked for... but, it's good! You, you and Tsuruga-san have been hanging out a lot!" She laced her fingers together. "It makes sense that my senpais get along so well, you're both very hard-working and dedicated to your careers." She nodded vehemently.

"There's not a lot of work talk when we hang out," Hikaru explained. "You've spoken to Tsuruga since then?" _ I know she has. But that doesn't mean she understood what he was trying to say. _

"Yes! But he... doesn't talk about what you guys are actually doing. Or talking about." She wrung her hands together.

_A lot about you_ . "I mean, guys don't really talk about much important, it's more like an excuse to bust each - I mean, tease each other. Blow off steam."

She nodded, but her expression was still tense. "He's not mad," Hikaru added, swearing at himself internally. "He doesn't like, think you owe him knowledge about the rolls you accept. He just... it's been a long time since he's had real guy friends, right? He's just getting in guy time before his next project makes him too busy, I'm sure."

That seemed to confuse her. "Oh. He... I... he has to have other male friends, right? Kijima!" Her face lit up and she held a finger in the air. "But..." Her face darkened. "Oh no. I think I... I probably ruined that for him with my shameful behavior." She ran her hand down her face, the glow receding. "I'm being selfish. I'm sorry. Please - please excuse me." She bowed and went to cleaning the far end of the table, wiping crumbs into her hand. Hikaru excused himself and stowed away in the bathroom.

_"How quickly can you get to TBM right now?" _ he texted.

_"I just wrapped a commercial in TBM actually. Why?"_

_"Come to Kimigure Rock. Kyoko cooked a bunch of food."_

There was a slight delay before Hikaru received, "_Mogami is an excellent chef. You should enjoy it."_

Hikaru rolled his eyes and called him instead. To Hikaru's surprise, Ren picked up.

"She's sad," Hikaru spit out before Ren could put on airs. "She's sad, and she thinks she's kept you from having friends, and she hasn't gotten to cook for you lately, so she cooked enough food for the whole crew. And you can come down and stomach one rice ball to make her happy again."

Hikaru heard the smallest exhale on the other side, then a gravely, "Okay. Give me five minutes."

"Good." Hikaru hung up.

He slid down the wall and clasped his phone in his hands. _ Less than two weeks. Less than two weeks of not being attached to his hip and Kyoko's upset. _ He squeezed his phone. He should have known this. There wasn't a way that Kyoko had feelings for him stronger than those for Tsuruga, but he was convinced that he could _show_ her. That once she opened her heart and gave him a chance, she would see his heart and fall for him. Unlike Tsuruga, he knew that you didn't have to be perfect to be loved, and with that pressure gone, she'd...

He shook his head and slammed his eyes shut. _It doesn't matter. She's too far gone, too wrapped up in him. _The tile on his back made him shiver. _ There's no room for Hikaru Ishibashi in her heart. And I just served her up to him. _

It had been a while since his heart had felt so hollow. He thrived on adversity. He led their band out of nothingness to garner attention. He handled scheduling and contract negotiations until agents started returning his calls, and only relented when he found the right one. He convinced Yuusei and Shinichi to take the Kimigure Rock offer because once they were established in Tokyo's conscious, they'd be free to experiment as they saw fit. He let himself fall for a LoveMe girl. _I molded Ren fuckin' Tsuruga to my vision and made him sing!_ He inhaled sharply as tears prickled at his eyes. He could handle adversity, but not hopelessness. He could handle a hill that was too steep to climb. But knowing that a steel wall barred his ascent was demoralizing. Crushing.

_ Losing to Ren Tsuruga isn't shameful... but never standing a chance is. _ He took a deep breath as a tear fell. _ And the worse part is, that dick doesn't even know that he already won. He's too dense to know that he already has what he wants. _ He tried to laugh, but it came out like a cough. He wiped his nose on his sleeve and checked the time on his phone. _ Two minutes. I have two more minutes left in my pity party before he'll be here. _

For him to do... what? What could he really do in this situation? A good person would sit them both down and explain their feelings while hiding how much it stung him. It was the _right_ thing to do, but he wasn't ready to be right. Hikaru pushed himself up and stuffed his phone in his pocket, scrubbing his face to try and hide the splotchy redness near his bloodshot eyes. _I needed my makeup redone anyway. _

"You need to start eating your veggies if takin' a shit makes you cry, dude." Shinichi's voice broke him out of his thoughts and Hikaru jumped.

"Fuck! Scared me," Hikaru said as he ran a paper towel over his face.

"Tsuruga's here," Shinichi said. "You invited him?"

Hikaru nodded, chewing on his lip. "If anyone's diet's garbage, it's his. He can't get like, scurvy on my watch or his manager will kill me."

Shinichi clasped his shoulder. "Good man. You're always watchin' out. Let's go stuff our faces, and then we'll get Bloody Marys after we're done for the day."

Hikaru sniffed. "Bloody Marys?"

"They got like, vegetables and shit in them. Celery, pickles, tomatoes, all the good stuff."

"Tomatoes are fruits."

Shinichi rolled his eyes. "You're a pedant, and are constipated either emotionally or physically. Regardless, the Bloody Marys will help."


	7. Never Stood A Chance

The more Hikaru drank, the harder it was to not text Momose. Shinichi encouraged him to do it, but she deserved better than to be treated like an ego booster. Some sort of rebound. So he drank more to try and make that not possible, which is why his head was pounding fiercely the next day when he ran into Kanae Kotonami, decked out in LoveMe pink.

"We need to talk, Ishibashi-san," she said with narrowed eyes. Hikaru had to squint as well. _That pink is way too bright._

"How can I help you, Kotonami-san," he said, barely suppressing his discomfort.

"I'm going to cut to the chase. I'm a firm believer in giving Kyoko a kick in the pants as much as the next person, but I'm afraid this is going too far. You know, it hurts her, right? Him spending so much time with you. Him not being as _around_ her these last few weeks is taking a toll." She crossed her arms.

Hikaru's temper flared. _ Apparently, I'm not ready to die yet, but this girl just might kill me. _ "I _know._ When I left those two yesterday they were wrapped up in their own little world and making plans about what to do after work. So anything that happened after that is on them."

"Well, you didn't do a good enough job of it," Kotonami spit. "It essentially became audition practice for Kyoko. They didn't _talk_ about anything else, so this is just gonna happen again."

Hikaru groaned as the ice pick drilled itself further into his temple. "You cannot _possibly_ blame me for that! And you're not innocent either. You know he gets jealous of you, right, Kotonami? You steal her attention all of the time. So maybe Kyoko-chan needs to feel the pain for a bit."

Kotonami's lips pressed together for a moment as if she was preparing to leap into a tirade. Over her shoulder, he spotted Tsuruga and Yashiro and Hikaru decided he wasn't ready to fall by her hand. He hailed them with a wave, and their course changed. "Ishibashi-san, Kotonami-san!" Yashiro greeted.

Kotonami shot Hikaru a glare before her expression softened and she turned. "Yashiro-san, Tsuruga-san."

"Good morning," Tsuruga said with a soft smile to Kotonami and a more appraising one toward Hikaru.

Yashiro offered a tray of to-go cups towards Kotonami first. "All black coffee, I'm afraid, next time I'll remember to get some green tea on the off chance - "

"Coffee is perfect, thank you, Yashiro-san."

Tsuruga took two out of the tray and offered one to Hikaru, which he took with a nod. Afraid to let the small talk continue, Hikaru asked, "So have you two planned Kotonami's birthday date yet?"

Kotonami turned a violent shade of red and Yashiro started to sputter.

"We'll leave you too it then," Tsuruga said and lead Hikaru away. Tsuruga fished in a plastic bag on his wrist and pulled out a small, orange bottle. "Choke a couple of these down first. The texture is terrible, but there's no helping it. You'll need to be somewhat perky in time for camera tests this afternoon."

Hikaru sighed and obeyed, the taste of ginger coating his tongue. He suppressed his urge to gag, and Tsuruga gave him another one. "How'd you know?" Hikaru asked and then drank the second one. Somehow it was worse when his palate was primed.

Tsuruga grabbed his phone out of his pocket and opened a message. _"Pizzza? <3"_ was all it read. "Somehow I had the sneaking suspicion this wasn't intended for me, so I called Shinichi to ensure that someone was watching out for you. Otherwise, I'd have come to get you."

Hikaru took a drink from his coffee next and grimaced as the tumeric already in his mouth mixed with it. "Sorry about that, but at least Momose wasn't subject to dealing with me. And I'm an adult, I can handle myself."

With two quick strides and a sharp turn on his heel, Tsuruga was standing in front of him. His brow was furrowed. "We were just working on material for her upcoming audition."

"That's not as comforting as you think," Hikaru snapped. Then, he softened. "Sorry. It's just... if you're gonna get kicked in the teeth, breaking the whole tooth off might be preferable to chipping it."

Tsuruga gripped his coffee cup. "Hikaru-kun... I don't want to screw anything up. But it feels like it's only a matter of time."

Hikaru shook his aching head. "Don't worry about me. I'm your senior, remember? Just let me go find a dark room to hide in for a bit. I'll be right as rain by this afternoon." He clapped Tsuruga on the arm, saying, "Thanks for the drinks, chicken fucker," and left.

* * *

President Takarada had decided that the participants from the week previous needed to be in attendance for each following Challenge, so the band and Ren's presences were required on set to make sure the crew was prepared to capture their live reactions. However, the four seemed more keen on trying to capture any hint that Momose and her partner, Moto, were around.

Hikaru's head was still fuzzy when his phone buzzed. _"I spy with my little eye..."_ the text read.

_"A confused boy who still looks cute despite that?"_ he replied and started looking around more frantically as the other three peered over the text.

_"More like a pale boy. They need to fix your lighting."_

_"It's more self-induced than anything. Where are you?"_

_ "Hehe! In the dressing room getting my hair done. We have a monitor back here, no audio though." _

With that, Shinichi and Yuusei waved enthusiastically at the camera, and Tsuruga gave a nod.

"_Hi boys!"_

"You should go back and see her," Shinichi said pointedly.

"Agreed. Someone has to make sure her hair is getting done correctly, and we need the second prettiest boy to do it," Yuusei said solemnly.

Hikaru looked to Tsuruga. He shrugged. "I could get away with it, probably, but it doesn't come without risk. Wait." He looked to Yuusei. "I'm the prettiest?" He almost seemed amused.

"Don't ask stupid questions," Yuusei retorted.

"I was always told I acted a bit too macho to be properly pretty on the runway," he said in earnest. Hikaru's phone buzzed again.

_ "You can't come back here. Stylist is old-school and she'll beat any man away with a straightening iron." _

Hikaru stared down the camera and mouthed, "_How?"_

_"I can tell when men are scheming from a mile away."_

Hikaru couldn't help but smirk and reply, _"So, your hair is going to be straight for the challenge..."_

_"You can curl hair with a straightening iron."_

"That's gotta be a lie," Hikaru said out loud.

Tsuruga looked over and said, "Actually, I've seen it done before, it's fairly ingenious. 'You'll have to show me how that's done sometime', type that." He pointed to Hikaru's phone.

_"Having Tsuruga feed you lines is cheating."_

Hikaru stared down the camera again and raised an eyebrow. He then typed, _"How do I have proof you don't have someone feeding you lines?"_

_"xD Fair enough. What's the line?"_

_ "Tsuruga said something about you showing me how it works, which feels a bit wrong to ask you to perform. I was going to say I'd love to see the results on our date." _

"Shots fired!" Shinichi teased as Tsuruga clutched his heart.

_ "Oooh, good one. Yours, not Tsuruga's. Bit aggressive. He's always too extra for his own good." _

Hikaru couldn't help but grin as Tsuruga's chest heaved and he choked as if hit by a bullet. His eyes went glassy as he covered the imaginary wound and then crumpled in his seat. Yuusei leaned over and put two fingers on his throat. "Gone. He never stood a chance." The Ishibashis put their hands together and bowed their heads.

Clasped between his hands, Hikaru's phone buzzed. He opened the message to see a picture of Momose, head bowed, hands together, shiny blonde hair veiling her face. "Curled!" he exclaimed, and Shinichi and Yuusei leaned over to look. Even Tsuruga cracked an eye open to peek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So apparently Japan has these nifty little [hangover cures](http://www.tokyonightowl.com/japanese-hangover-cures/). Naturally that means I have to give them to Hikaru to just really kick him while he's down.
> 
> At this rate, somebody's gonna sue me for custody over him. HE'S MY BOY! DON'T YOU EVEN TRY!


	8. Their Own Little World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, back to the original shtick of this fic! The song featured is [Dance Macabre by Ghost](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Gr63DiEUxw). I highly recommend you give it a listen while you read!
> 
> Also, I will not claim to be a choreographer, so please be generous and focus on the imagery xD

It was the boys from Bridge Rock's turn to dress more like Tsuruga - or so the head of wardrobe said the next day. They were decked out in suits of appropriately muted colors, as their reactions were only part of the entertainment that evening. The real stars were Momose and Moto.

The four men were roped off in their own seating area and given champagne as they waited, to Hikaru's eternal relief. He was getting a taste for whiskey, but there were no guarantees that he wouldn't make a face if it wasn't exactly to his liking. Dry, sparkling wine was easy and fairly inoffensive. Or so Hikaru thought until he saw Ren's lips twitch.

"Oh, come on, it's just wine," Hikaru teased. "Man up."

"It's sweet," he complained.

"It's dry as the Sahara," Yuusei argued.

"Don't tell me Ren Tsuruga's great disgrace is going to be at the hands of _white wine_," Shinichi prodded. But Ren wasn't paying attention to the jab, because he was tracking the blur of LoveMe pick scurrying back to the dressing room. _Of course, Takarada wrangled them into this as well. _

_"_ Earth to Tsuruga," Hikaru prodded.

He exhaled almost imperceptibly as his eyes darted to the desk and chair sitting on the dancefloor. "Someone else has taken the character I staked my career on and distilled it down to accommodate a non-verbal performance four minutes long for the world to see." _For Kyoko to see_ his tone seemed to imply.

"Fair enough, but Momose wouldn't let a bad version of Katsuki out in the world," Hikaru said. "She's got too much integrity for that."

Tsuruga raised an eyebrow and let the look linger for a moment. He seemed to drop whatever he was planning on saying and instead, in a low tone, "I know nothing about Li Moto's ability to portray it."

"Now you know how I felt putting you on stage." Hikaru smirked and took a sip from his flute. Tsuruga sighed again, but at least there was a hint of a smile on his lips now.

Some frantic handwaving proceeded a host rushing over to them, and the camera operator signaled them that they would be on air soon. The host beamed at the four of them and gave them a once-over before straightening his tie and turning to the camera.

"And welcome to the second edition of the Crossover Challenges, an LME production! I'm here with last week's contestants, Ren Tsuruga and Bridge Rock!" The host turned and held a hand out to them. Hikaru and Ren smiled and waved politely, while Yuusei and Shinichi threw up "rock-on" hand gestures, as always. It was Hikaru's job to do most of the talking of the three of them, and they were happy to play their parts as the goof-offs.

"Ishibashi-kun! How does it feel to be on the other side of the Challenge this week?"

Hikaru smiled. "It's a huge relief! Though we've got the best seats in the house to see Momose-san and Moto-san, so it'd say it was worth last week's stress." He raised his flute and gave a subtle nod. "Don't you agree, Tsuruga-san?"

Ren clinked his flute with Hikaru's. "Couldn't have said it better myself." His smile was dazzling, but Hikaru couldn't help but feel some sort of hostile energy bubbling under the surface.

"Tsuruga-san! As Momose-san's former co-star, how nervous are you for her? She has no previous experience dancing..."

Tsuruga gave a short shake of his head and chuckled. "None whatsoever. She's an uncompromising, dedicated artist. I know she'll put on an amazing performance. The only thing I'm worried about is how far she's going to blow us out of the water. I don't think I'll hear the end of it." He pulled on his collar and went wide-eyed. Hikaru nodded vehemently with a similarly startled expression.

The host chuckled. "Strong words of support from last week's contestants! Follow me, viewers, let's head up to the booth and talk about what we might expect from Momose and Moto." One of the cameras followed the host as he walked and talked, while the camera operator staying with them signaled that they were no longer being broadcast for the moment.

"You almost made me drink this stuff on the air," Tsuruga growled as he set his flute down.

"At least you forgot about Katsuki for the moment!" Shinichi chimed.

Hikaru grinned. "Whoopsie."

A few minutes later, they received the signal that they were live again. The lights dimmed.

"Please welcome, Itsumi Momose and her partner, Li Moto. They will be performing to Dance Macabre, by Ghost."

The Ishibashis collectively flinched. Ren raised an eyebrow. "It's a... unique choice, for sure," Hikaru whispered, leaning into Ren.

"Not helping," Ren murmured.

The guitar intro left the crowd muttering as a spotlight illuminated Momose and Moto. It became obvious why Moto was chosen - his long, lean figure mirrored Ren's well enough to make Katsuki at least _look_ correct. He was dressed like a teacher - a white shirt, black pants, maroon tie.

Momose's hair was bound in a high ponytail, curls cascading down her mostly-bare back. The shorts her picture hinted at previously weren't present, instead, a billowy white skirt. Yuusei leaned over and whispered in Hikaru's ear, "That's getting ripped off."

Hikaru nodded, trying to keep his expression neutral.

_"You'll soon be hearing the chime  
_ _Close to midnight"_

Mizuki reached up to Katsuki, eyes full of wonder. She stroked his jaw.

_"If I could turn back the time  
_ _I'd make all right"_

Katsuki's hand hovered over hers for a moment. He turned his head away and clenched it into a fist instead. Mizuki flinched as if she was stung.

_"How could it end like this?"_

Katsuki darted to the desk, a wounded animal retreating. The spotlight followed him.

_"There's a sting in the way you kiss me"_

He reached into the drawer and pulled out a mask, examining it in the light. It was the top half of a plague mask, the bulbous eyes and long, pale beak grotesque in the harsh light.

"_Something within your eyes said it could be the last time"_

He put it on.

_"'Fore it's over!"_

He turned to see Mizuki behind him. He turned away from her, but she didn't flinch. She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.

_"Just wanna be  
_ _Wanna bewitch you in the moonlight  
_ _Just wanna be  
_ _I wanna bewitch you all night."_

He took her in her arms and they quickstepped, the lights raising over the entirety of the dance floor. The way he led her felt stilted, but something in the way her golden locks moved and the cruel curve of the beak so close to her kept Hikaru riveted.

_"It keeps on giving me chills  
_ _But I know now"_

They parted, Mizuki flinching as if she had been burned. This time, Katsuki followed her, begging on his knees. She took him back, but his lead was still stiff and rigid. He spun and her hand ghosted along his back. When he moved to dart away from her, she caught his hand. Pulling him back into her, one of her hands cupped his shoulder blade. His hand rested in her free hand.

_"I feel the closer we get  
_ _To the last vow."_

At that moment, she became the lead. She stepped him back a few paces before leading him in a basic box step as if trying to introduce him to being led. Once satisfied with his compliance, she spun out and strode to the desk, sitting on it and kicking her legs over the chair. He followed like an obedient puppy, the nose of the plague mask following the line of her leg.

She rolled over the desk and found him again, and while he did take the lead, it was as if it was by her grace than his own decision.

But as they moved, it was as if both were casting their own spells on the other. His with the power of his angular features, hers by the way her skirt billowed and swayed.

_"Just wanna be  
_ _Wanna bewitch you in the moonlight"_

He spun her out, but instead of extending her free arm to its full extent, she grabbed her skirt and ripped it off, sending it sailing in the other direction. Lace tights patterned her legs where she wasn't covered by the shorts or leather boots. Shinichi grabbed Hikaru's shoulder and shook him as if he wasn't paying attention.

Hikaru most definitely was.

As she spun back into him, his arm wrapped around the front of her waist and snaked around to her lower back. Both of her hands found his shoulder

_"Just wanna be,  
_ _I wanna bewitch you all night."_

His other hand grabbed the back of her thigh, and he lifted. She spun around the arm on her waist, her legs casting long shadows on the dancefloor. When she landed, he pulled her into a tight embrace. She broke out and marched to the desk.

_"All night!"_

Katsuki sat in the chair, hunched over and clinging to his mask. Mizuki leaned against the chair, her back arching over him. Her ponytail cascaded by his face, ringlets of sparkling gold he didn't look over to. Her pale arm arched over her shoulder, extended high while the other trailed the line of her leg. She cast a shadow over him, only slivers of pale yellow light reaching him. And then, the light blinked out.

The applause was deafening as Hikaru continued to stare, slack-jawed. Ren had the sense to stand and applaud, which Hikaru quickly did as well. The lights turned back on again, and Momose was standing up straight, waving to the audience and hugging Moto. Her chest was heaving, and even from there he could see a sheen of sweat coat her face, but her eyes were on fire and her smile was electric. Hikaru grinned as well.

* * *

They were allowed back into the dressing room afterward for post-performance reactions. Shinichi and Yuusei were stationed with Moto, his very pregnant wife, and child. The two mostly focused on playing with the child. Hikaru and Ren were stationed with Momose. Kyoko was handing her a bottle of water as she wiped her face with a towel.

"Thank you, Kyoko-chan!"

Kyoko beamed. "Not a problem! I'll be right back with more water and chairs for Hikaru-kun and Tsuruga-san." She gave a quick bow before scurrying off once again.

Momose's smile was still there, the glitter and her flushed skin making her grey eyes seem even brighter. Her ponytail swayed as her hair shifted, grazing the bare skin of her back. An insane impulse made him want to touch her ponytail.

"Spectacular as always, Momose-chan," Ren said with a smile.

Hikaru wanted to say a thousand things, but the only coherent thought he had was, "I owe you dinner."

She chuckled. "I don't know! We're going based on the viewer's overall impression, and considering I stole your lean, and compared Katsuki to the literal bubonic plague, it might dampen the excitement."

Kyoko sprinted over with two more folding chairs as the host made his way over toward them. "Fortune favors the bold," Tsuruga offered as he took a chair from Kyoko while she set up Hikaru's.

_ But that's even better. I want to buy you dinner because I want to. _ He should have said something to that effect. Instead, he sat as Kyoko pulled out three bottles of water from the absurdly deep pockets of her jumpsuit.

Momose's eyes went wide. "I want a pair of those now! Look at those pockets!"

"They're so functional!" Kyoko burst before she was shooed away by a camera operator.

Momose looked over to Hikaru and pointed a finger at him. "You couldn't possibly understand the struggle of clothing with insufficient pockets."

As the host cleared his throat and the camera operator counted down, Hikaru leaned over to her and whispered, "I have a pair of leather pants that begs to differ."

Her eyes went wide with glee and held him there for a moment before turning to the host.

"Incredible! Just an incredible performance from Itsumi Momose. And it makes me want re-watch Dark Moon all over again," the host grinned as he turned to Momose.

"Absolutely!" Momose chimed. "But please, try to avoid picturing Tsuruga-kun with the mask." She raised a hand to her mouth and giggled.

Tsuruga gave her a bemused look. "I was hoping that mask was purely for symbolism and not commentary."

"The other choice for Moto-san was a pale face and black, sunken-in eyes, but the makeup would have melted for sure!" She took a drink from her bottle and fanned herself with her other hand.

"All the same, I am amazed at the work you put in, Momose-san. It was truly a work of art."

Momose smiled demurely. "Thank you Tsuruga-kun." She turned to Hikaru. "And you, Ishibashi-kun?"

"Speechless," Hikaru said.

"You can say that again!" The host said boisterously. "Folks at home can see the playback now - your expression the whole time was dumbstruck!"

Hikaru felt butterflies rising in his stomach. "Unlike Tsuruga-kun, I'd never had the opportunity to see Momose-san perform in person. It's a breathtaking experience."

Her eyes darted away, ever so slightly for the moment, before she smiled. He swore she blushed.

"Couldn't have said it better myself!" The host said. "But now, follow me! Let's go talk to Moto-san before his wife makes him a father of two!"

When they were off-air, Momose sunk back into her seat and sighed. "Thank goodness." She started reaching in her hair. "These extensions are killing my scalp, I can't wait any longer!" She started prying at her hair.

"Careful, Momose-chan!" Kyoko somehow appeared by her side again and took over the removal process, passing Hikaru the extensions. He took them as he watched her transformation, a shorter ponytail, and then she freed her bangs from the bobby pins. Glitter fell from her face and hair.

"It's fine, Kyoko-chan. I'm more worried about getting all of this hairspray off. It really makes the glitter stick." She flicked her glitter-covered hands at Hikaru. "Can I help you, Ishibashi-kun? Water? A place to lie down?"

He jumped back slightly and chuckled. "What? I'm, I'm fine, you're the one..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Got it. Yep. Joke's one me."

Kyoko removed the last of the extensions and took the bundle from Hikaru. He caught Tsuruga's smile as he stood and folded his chair. He gestured to Kyoko to follow him. Her eyes lid up with understanding, and she did. _Can you lose a thing you never had a chance of winning?_

Momose cocked her head curiously. He chuckled nervously. "I just... remembered our conversation. I couldn't have imagined that little chat could to lead to... something so incredible. I owe you dinner."

"You keep saying that, but it's not happening tonight," she teased. "Results. Plus, I am in desperate need of a shower." Her eyes darted to where Kyoko and Ren had left. "You going out for drinks again tonight?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "Those two seem a bit... involved. In their own little world."

She snorted. "Understatement, even during Dark Moon. And Moto-san's definitely not going out. His wife's going to pop any minute, so he's understandably reluctant to leave her side. But, we wanted to release a picture so I was thinking we'd each take a picture of us raising a glass. My agent can throw them together in a collage and release them, 'Raise your glass to the Challenge!' or something like that. Think you and Tsuruga can do that tonight?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "That's easy."

A stern-faced woman descended on their conversation. "Interview's over. Out, Ishibashi-san!" she scolded, waving her hands.

"Sorry!" he yelped, grabbing his chair and fleeing.

"Don't forget the picture!" Momose called.

"I won't!"


	9. If I Accept That

"Give it to us straight, Yashiro," Yuusei said over lunch the next day. "How'd it go over?"

Yashiro furrowed his brow. "You three have an agent as well. Why don't you ask him?"

Shinichi leaned in conspiratorially. "And he's excellent at his job, but a little dry. We can tell you have a flair for the dramatic nestled in there. Can't represent this drama queen without love for theatrics." Shinichi pointed a thumb to Ren. Ren nodded in concession to the accusation.

Yashiro's eyes narrowed as he pushed his glasses up. "Guilty as charged, I suppose," he said as he snapped his rubber gloves on to his hands and took his phone. "First, the President was extremely pleased. The performance was golden, and he intends to follow through with the theme of 'strong women' by picking one of Momose's former co-stars on a drama. He loved the picture as well, however, he couldn't help but notice..." He inspected Hikaru with a look that made Hikaru sit up straighter. "Everyone took their photos at home. And you and Momose both just happened to elect to wear robes..."

Hikaru held his hands up innocently. "Accident, I promise! Thought it'd make it clear I was at home, not at a bar. Also, we're both clearly clothed, and in different locations."

Yashiro smiled slyly. "Ah, but if that were it, the internet wouldn't be in a tizzy. You were positively flabbergasted through the whole performance. The picture-in-picture replays paint a picture, Ishibashi-kun, that they do..." He showed his phone screen. The still was of Momose hopping on the desk. Hikaru was particularly wide-eyed, mouth slightly open. Ren merely looked satisfied, a tick of Katsuki in his smirk.

Hikaru's body flushed hot. "So, so what... what are people saying?"

Yashiro smirked and crossed his arms. "Your cheating on Ren with Momose." Hikaru pouted as the table tried to stifle its laughter.

"That's just insult to injury with this whole Kyoko business," Hikaru glowered.

Ren was composing himself to speak, but Shinichi's attitude soured quickly and spoke first. "What Kyoko business? She's never been yours to nab, dude. Thought that was clear now, she's Tsuruga's."

Yuusei slugged Shinichi in the arm. "We had an agreement. Switzerland, dude."

"If Switzerland has a girl like Momose give an interpretive dance basically saying 'Ren Tsuruga has no power over me', it'd pick a damn side."

Yuusei slugged him again. "Stick to a metaphor, fuck's sake."

"She's not mine," Tsuruga growled in a low tone.

"She's her own woman who makes her own decisions," Yashiro said diplomatically. "Both are. And Ren and Kyoko-chan have always been close, but that's... about all that you can say about the situation."

"I guarantee you know more about Tsuruga now than you do Kyoko," Shinichi pressed. "You can't love someone you don't know shit about."

"You're the expert, Shin-chan, that's for damn sure," Hikaru rolled his eyes and took a drink. The beer didn't sit well with his churning stomach. His hands still had traces of glitter on them.

"You can date all you want, but that doesn't mean you've loved," Tsuruga said, staring into his mostly-full bowl. "That I know." He looked over to Hikaru gently. "I won't claim to know your feelings for her, but I do recognize someone who likes the chase. Someone who has to fight for everything. And someone who doesn't know how to respond to someone chasing them."

Hikaru didn't like being backed into a corner. "You put her up to it."

Yashiro said, "I will confess that Ren and I thought there may be compatibility between you two. But assuming that anyone can make Itsumi Momose bend to their will is a grave mistake." Ren nodded in agreement.

"Itsumi Momose can bend me any way she likes," Shinichi quipped. It was Hikaru's turn to punch him. "Ow! Same spot, you two dicks are gonna give me a bruise."

"To spare you suffering, Shinichi-san, how about I change the topic?" Ren offered. "How is your quest to discover my secret villain role proceeding?"

Yashiro flinched. "What is this now?"

"Tsuruga was incredibly creepy one night. Beyond any of his credited films would suggest him capable, so Shinichi's on a mission to find where he got his practice," Hikaru explained, happy to change the subject.

"I wouldn't necessarily characterize it as 'villain' but it was unsettling," Yuusei added. "Twisted."

"And if I figure it out in one guess, I get the Porsche for a day," Shinichi said. "And I've done some research, constructed a few timelines around your career, so I have a few leads. Nothing concrete yet." He nodded to himself. "Believe me, this won't be a flippant guess. That Porsche is mine."

"And what happens if you guess wrong?" Yashiro asked, eyebrows raised.

Ren leaned back in his seat. "Just a favor. One, singular favor." He crossed his arms. "No questions asked." His eyes narrowed.

Yuusei and Hikaru went wide-eyed as Shinichi balked. Yuusei looked to Hikaru. "That's a murder favor."

Hikaru nodded vehemently. "That's definitely a favor that involves murder." He looked to Yashiro. "Murder?"

Yashiro nodded solemnly. "Most foul. My client is fairly even-tempered, but that only means those he wishes ill will on, he's serious about. Good luck in prison, Ishibashi-kun."

Shinichi grabbed his beer and took a long drink.

* * *

At rehearsal that afternoon, Hikaru follow Yuusei out for his cigarette break. Hikaru didn't smoke, but he was excellent at scolding Yuusei to stop after one. Quitting wasn't coming easily to Yuusei.

"Do you think Tsuruga and Shin are right?" Hikaru asked, staring at the mostly empty parking lot. "About me not actually loving Kyoko?"

Yuusei exhaled slowly. "Their assessment lacks nuance. You pick your people differently than they do, so the way they say it makes you sound shallow."

Hikaru wrinkled his nose at the cloud of smoke. "No wonder you like this stuff, smells like ass. What do you mean?"

He took another drag. "I mean that those two require a person to earn their trust. It's a long, slow process of them being presented evidence as to why they're worth it. You do it differently. If you've got a small reason, you give 'em your trust until they give you a reason to revoke it. You like to see... what a person can be. You're the leader of the band, man. You're... not an enabler... what's the word I want... " He flicked some ash off of the tip. "An advocate. You pick people, and they're yours, and you fight for 'em. Works great with friendships."

"But not with dates." Hikaru slumped into the wall.

"It's gotten you _burned_ several times, dude. You used to go after a bunch of predators, girls who wanted to date the lead singer of the band, not Hikaru."

"Kyoko-chan wouldn't do that." He stared at his scuffed sneakers. Maybe he needed something dressier, something with leather and buckles. _ Tsuruga shouldn't be allowed to wear a heel. He's already so damn tall. _

"No, she wouldn't, because she's an advocate, too. From what I heard, Kotonami and Amamiya were rather prickly to Kyoko-chan until Kyoko changed their minds. And according to Yashiro, Tsuruga was outright hostile to Kyoko-chan in the early days. But I guess she flipped him too."

Hikaru snorted. "So I should have been rude?"

"Clearly." Yuusei's cigarette was dwindling fairly short, so he passed over the pack to Hikaru for safekeeping. "You fought to keep her after the Fuwa incident, and she's been trying to prove herself at every recording ever since. And she could have quit, ya know. She's Mio, she's Natsu, she could find different work, but she doesn't." He shrugged. "You'd do the same. It makes sense you'd feel something for someone with your kinda worth ethic and attitude."

Hikaru spied a trash can by the door and shot the pack at it. It bounced on the rim and fell in. "Expensive habit," Hikaru quipped. "And what, you want me to compare that to Momose?"

Yuusei sighed. "I mean, from what I can tell, Momose wouldn't feel bad about leaving the role and letting someone new to the business take over. She'd want to do a big reveal of her identity, say some shtick about how it's a noble way to get started in the industry, try to normalize it. Then she'd do some skits with the new Bo and make sure to hit up the show when she had something new to promote. Neither way is better or worse, just different." He stubbed his cigarette butt out on the wall and walked it to the trash can. "She knows what she wants for herself, and you just don't know what to do with someone who doesn't need told to do it." He gave a forlorn look to the mostly-full pack in the trash and walked away.

"She makes it sound like our one conversation was enough to inspire... that performance." Hikaru took a deep breath. "I don't know if my ego can handle that. I'll be an insufferable twat if I accept that."

Yuusei barked a laugh. "Who says you already aren't?" He checked the time on his phone. "Let's go before Shin devours craft services without us."

"Who says he already isn't?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The conversation went a biiit different than we talked about, but have more pensive Hikaru, Persie! <3


	10. Full Of Ideas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gueeeeess what? I shoehorned another song in here! [Light up the Background by The Lafontaines](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rcmkq5z2CT0) and a [ nifty diagram](https://i1.wp.com/dancenex.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/box-step-waltz.jpg?resize=1140%2C641&ssl=1) to explain the movements described.

"Alright, alright, thank you so much folks to returning to Yappa Kimigure Rock!" Hikaru said to the stage lights, and beyond them, the audience. Hosting still filled Hikaru with nerves that singing never did. _ I think it's the lack of a mic stand. Even having a handheld mic would feel more natural. _ However, the producer noticed the boys' penchant to fidget with them, so it became lapel microphones for all.

He waved a sheet of paper. "If you've noticed, I've got some cheat sheets here and the stage is set up a liiitle differently today!" He gestured behind him, where Shinichi and Yuusei sat on one couch, opposite the guest couch. A chair sat between the two couches. "And that is because, as of 10:43 this very morning, one of our guests became unavailable to join us."

The audience sighed, but Hikaru held his hands out. "But for the best possible reason! Akami Moto has given birth to Li Moto's brand new, baby girl, Kikono!" The audience cooed as a picture of Kikono was projected on the screen. The tiny bundle was wrapped in a white swaddle, a pink beanie covering whips of black hair. Her tiny eyes were closed serenely.

"Look at that precious little one!" Hikaru said. "Sleeping like a champ. However, the show must go on for the rest of us, so our guest today has brought one of her former guest stars along." He raised a conspiratorial eyebrow. The audience began to shriek in anticipation. "Please, welcome, Itsumi Momose and Ren Tsuruga!"

The cheering was deafening as Momose emerged, waving and smiling. Bo quickly found her side and offered her wing as an escort to her seat, which Momose accepted. Tsuruga followed them, but halfway across the stage, Bo shot him a glare. Tsuruga balked and held his hands up. He waited as Momose and Bo found her seat before joining them. Hikaru took the chair in the middle as Bo glowered at Tsuruga, as if she has expected to sit next to Momose. Bo flapped her wings to shoo him away, to which Tsuruga stood up swiftly and waved his arms. Bo squawked and ran away in a flurry.

Hikaru chuckled. _They do have chemistry. _The laughter of the audience died down as Momose turned her attention to the photo of Kikono. "So precious!" she said, placing a hand on her heart. "Look at those little eyelashes."

Ren gave a warm smile. "And mom and baby are doing well?" he asked Hikaru.

"They are! I've actually been given a statement from Moto. 'Kikono was born at 10:43 this morning to very happy, but very tired parents. She is 8 lbs, 4.5 ounces and 19.5 inches long. We appreciate everyone's support and are very thankful she waited until after the Challenge!'"

The audience applauded. "We're all thankful to little Kikono-chan for her patience. Momose-san! Do you feel like you've recovered from last night, or are you still exhausted?"

"I was exhausted just watching you!" Shinichi chirped.

Momose laughed. "A little tired, but mostly I'm concerned about ever getting all of this glitter off!" She ran her fingers through her hair and it sparkled gold. Hikaru folded his hands on his lap, wondering if anyone could see the remnants on his hands.

"Coconut oil!" Yuusei chimed in. "After _somebody_ shot me with a glitter cannon on stage a few years ago, I became an expert." He shot Hikaru a dirty look. Hikaru looked away innocently while Ren and Momose laughed.

"Perhaps if Director Ogata organizes a movie sequel to Dark Moon, I can convince him to include the glittering hair and the mask," Ren chuckled.

The audience gasped. "Tsuruga-kun!" Momose scolded

On cue, Hikaru leaned in and gave him a pressing look. "Tsuruga-san, are you suggesting what I think you are?"

Tsuruga held his hands up innocently. "Not at all! I merely agree with the fans' sentiment - we never see Katsuki's body in either Dark Moon or Tsukigomori. Until you see that, I would recommend not closing the lid on his coffin."

The audience went wild. Hikaru held a hand up, attempting to regain control of the room. Ogata was interested in reuniting the cast for a movie, however, funding had yet to be secured. With Moto's child impending birth, he was never scheduled to attend the interview. The farce was merely to let Momose and Ren garner hype to convince the hold-outs.

"With a cameo appearance by Bridge Rock?" Shinichi pointed toward the audience, and an appropriate amount of laughter followed.

"I think the three of us would make excellent grave robbers," Yuusei added.

Momose chuckled. "Take notes, Director! These boys are full of ideas."

"Somehow they convinced me to sing, so the ideas aren't even half-bad." Ren shrugged.

Hikaru tapped a hand on his leg. "With that ringing endorsement, I was going to suggest that we practice some fancy footwork ourselves! Momose-san, can you teach us a some steps?"

She beamed. "Of course! The box step requires just a little bit of practice, but even the folks at home can learn it in no time."

Hikaru stood and clapped his hands together. "Excellent! Alright, we've got to make some space, so right after this commercial break, we'll be right back. Mizuki's taking us to dance class!" The audience applauded and the cameras and mics cut. Yuusei and Shinichi went to scooting their couch to the edge of the stage. Bo started to work on moving the guests' couch, but when Tsuruga went to help, she batted him away. They squabbled over it for a while, putting on a show until two techs came out and moved it themselves. Hikaru moved his chair to the wall and chatted with one of the audio engineers to make sure the music was ready on his cue.

Momose took the moment to smile and wave to the audience before finding Hikaru. "I must apologize profusely, Ishibashi-kun. It seems you've caught my affliction."

He jumped. "What? What, what are you... oh." He held his hands out. The stage lights did make the traces of glitter all the more prominent. When he looked back to Momose, his stomach fluttered and he shoved his hands in his back pockets. "Better be careful with these. That's how rumors get started, ya know."

She nodded conspiratorially. "Like that you're cheating on Tsuruga?"

His mouth went dry. "In my defense, Tsuruga's cheating on me with a chicken." Momose's eyes followed Hikaru's. Bo and Tsuruga were still at it, pantomiming a squabble as they picked places on the stage. Momose would stand in the middle, obviously, but who got to stand next to her seemed to be the point of contention. Despite the ferocity of how Bo flapped her wings, Ren's reactions were purely fictional - even Hikaru could see the amusement in his eyes. _ When's the last time he got to do physical comedy? Or... perform with the woman he loves. _

Momose covered her mouth and snorted. "Sometimes I wonder what it's like in that little world of theirs."

Hikaru turned his attention back to Momose. "Exhausting. Look at that, they can't even spend a commercial break without making it a scene."

Her brow furrowed until she saw his smile. She smiled back. "Show time."

Yuusei and Shinichi split up Bo and Ren and put them on opposite sides of the stage. Momose and Hikaru stood in the middle. "Annnnd we're back!" Hikaru chimed. "Momose-chan, how about you show us how to make some boxes?" _Shit, how'd I slip with '-chan'?_

"Alright!" she said with a clap of her hands. "We're basically just making a square pattern with our feet. The direction you make it in varies if your a leader or a follower. But men typically lead, so we're gonna start with the leader's pattern and then explain the follower's after that." She readied her stance. "Start with your feet together, weight evenly distributed and a gentle bend in your knees. Think of this position as the lower-left corner of your box. Our goal is to step on all of the corners! Start with your left foot forward." Momose stepped forward, and the rest followed suit. "Then your right foot comes to meet it, but don't put it down yet! It's just gliding up to say 'Hi' on the way to the upper right corner of your box."

Her feet were about a foot apart then. "Left foot comes to meet it, then right foot back to the bottom right corner." She took a moment to look at everyone's placement. "Excellent! Let's bring it home. It's the left foot's turn to glide on back, say 'Hello' to the right foot before finding it's place back at the start. Feet together, and we did it!"

The audience applauded. "Hey, we did it and nobody fell!" Hikaru cheered. Bo flexed a wing proudly.

"Let's do it a couple more time!" Momose said, and counted them off as the repeated the pattern, gaining speed with each repetition. "Now, the follower's role is just like that, but in reverse. Follower starts in the upper right corner of their box, and moves backward." They repeated the pattern a few times, Hikaru thankful that Momose trained them before recording. He didn't have a knack for this kind of stuff like Yuusei and Ren, but he could take instruction. Hikaru scratched his nose, and the music started playing.

"Whoa, this is from Dance Macabre!" he said, feigning surprise. Yuusei and Shinichi paired off and started dancing together.

"Right! The box step is really versatile, change up the pace and add a few spins and you've got the basis for a lot of dances." Momose said, quickly switching to the leader's pattern.

Ren and Bo pantomimed an apology and started dancing as well. The audience "aww-ed". Hikaru rolled his wrist and the music changed.

_"We're not alone, in this coal town.  
_ _Light up the background, light up the background."_

Momose and Hikaru slowed their pace. "Phew, that's better!" Hikaru said, wiping his brow.

_"Watch them, yeah I said watch them.  
_ _You can try and catch but you will never stop them.  
_ _Put them on the television, let us see what they envision."_

_"_ Gah!" Hikaru exclaimed as he tried to pick up the pace yet again.

"Keep it up, you've got it!" Momose said.

By the time the chorus hit again, Bo and Ren's box step had morphed into a polka as they wheeled around the stage. Shinichi and Yuusei had abandoned the box step entirely for a country-western two-step, adding spins and dips as they saw fit.

_"We're not alone, in this coal town.  
_ _Light up the background, light up the background."_

Hikaru couldn't control his laughter at the chaos, which caused him to lose his balance. Momose took his arm. "That's why this is a partner dance!" she chuckled. They continued until Yuusei spun Shinichi off stage left, and a sound effect of boxes crashing played. Not stopping their routine, Momose and Hikaru looked over their shoulders to find Yuusei panicked, then running backstage. The turned to see Bo and Ren, oblivious to the world, wheeling off stage right. Hikaru looked at the camera. "Thanks so much to Momose-san and Tsuruga-san! I'm going to go see if I need a replacement brother!"

"And I should find Tsuruga!" Momose added. They nodded to each other, waved to the audience, and darted off stage in opposite directions. The audience was howling with laughter.

* * *

After recording wrapped, Hikaru found Momose waiting outside of his dressing room. "You handle a script well," she said.

He shrugged. "It was a good change of pace. The typical Q and A gets a bit stale."

"You're telling me," she smiled.

Hikaru grabbed his phone. "So, I think I've found some definitive evidence to settle the issue of who pays for dinner." He showed her his screen.

She gave him a bemused look. "A Boost poll? Are you that desperate to pay?"

"If I say 'yes', will you?" he asked, swallowing hard.

She thought about it for a moment. "If you wear those leather pants you mentioned before."

That threw him off. "Well, I was gonna make a reservation, at a place where those wouldn't exactly be appropriate..." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I will happily go to somewhere that doesn't require reservations and leather pants would be appropriate." She watched him innocently.

_This girl's gonna give me heart palpitations. "_ You drive a hard bargain. Deal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW this fic has gotten a biiiit out of control. I'd have sworn I'd have had most things wrapped up by now xD This chapter was really just to let me try to write a variety show and do a bit of practice with action besides somebody eating and drinking while talking.


	11. A Man Of Your Word

His outfit restrictions lead him to take Momose to a bar. From his previous visits, he had been able to establish that the food was palatable and the jazz band playing would make him seem a bit more cultured than his outfit would suggest. He had apparently gained a few pounds since he wore the pants last and he nearly took up Yuusei on his offer to bring cornstarch. He took Tsuruga's suggestion of wearing an untucked, grey button-up with it, so he didn't look like a total deviant in broad daylight.

He waited for Momose outside of the bar, shifting his weight from one leg to another. _ Should have broken in these boots again. How the hell do women wear heels all of the time? _ It was only a half-inch, but any amount of height made him feel unbalanced. When he spotted her, her eyes lit up as she took in his appearance. It made his skin prickle. _ Is my fly up? Are my buttons all fastened? Are the pants too tight? _

"Ishibashi-kun, you're a man of your word!" she said, adjusting the strap of her purse on her shoulder and looking him up and down. "I don't think you could even slip a credit card in those pockets. Does it have pockets?"

"Y-yeah, but they're high-waisted, so the pocket's clear up here." He poked at his shirt above his hipbone. Her eyebrows raised.

"I see why you were reluctant for a reservation - you do look like a rock star who'd end up trashing the place." She grinned.

His cheeks burned. "You - you look amazing too, you're very -"

She pulled at the floral-patterned sundress. "Light? Breezy? Comfortable?"

It finally dawned on him. The fabric gently grazed over her figure, with a pair of strappy sandals to complete the look. "You're teasing me with your outfit?" He thumped his palm on his chest. "It only hurts right there."

She flipped her hair over her shoulder with a mischevious look in her eye. "Naturally. Anyway, tell me about this band. Jazz? Do they play here often or -" Her sentence trailed off as a car pulled up to the curb and she watched the occupants exit. It was something he'd only ever witnessed with Tsuruga - the way an actor's face can morph from happiness to concern, and then to nothingness. _She's trying to hide herself._ Her posture became rigid.

Hikaru shoulders tensed as he turned. He wouldn't have known the three men from anyone else on the street, but the one in the tan suit seemed to know Momose. "Momose-san, long time no see. Good to see you have free time on your hands."

"Ikeda-san," she said in a level tone. "Enjoy your evening."

Ikeda smirked. "You as well." He gave Hikaru a lingering look before leading his companions into the club. When the door closed, Hikaru turned back to Momose. Her eyes had gone distant, but her body was shaking. Her hands tightened around the strap of her purse.

"I'm sorry, Ishibashi-kun, but can we please go somewhere else?" She wasn't looking at him. She was still inside herself.

"Of course! Of course, let's go. There's a crepe shop like two blocks away. They've got sweet, they've got savory, they've got it all. I'll eat one and I guarantee I'll burst out of these pants."

She snorted, something in his words breaking through her barrier. "You read my profile? I love crepes."

He was starting to find his breath. "Of course! I mean, crepes are delicious, and I couldn't go out with a girl who didn't like crepes."

She nodded and they walked. He wanted to wrap an arm around her. He wanted to go back and grab Ikeda by the collar and shake him until he confessed whatever he did that could snuff her joy so quickly. He wished he was Tsuruga at that moment - he'd have puzzled it out by then. He'd have figure out what Ikeda's look meant and how to bring Momose back.

"Momose..." he said, almost under his breath.

"I was extended an offer," she said in a thick voice. "Contingent, of course, after some discussions and readings. But it wasn't an audition. That's a huge step for an actor. Everything was going _fine_ until Ikeda asked me on a date. I said no." Hikaru clenched a fist in anticipation.

"The next day, the offer was revoked." Tears were welling in her eyes as she stared at the pavement ahead of her. "They hadn't even solidified the _name_ for the project yet. A historical drama." She took a few ragged breaths. "I'd finally be free of Mizuki. Of _only_ being Mizuki. And fucks like _him_ would stop assuming that I was _like_ her, that I'd jump into bed with any older man if he put on a front of mystery."

Her knuckles were turning white as she strangled her purse strap. _I should beat the shit out of Ikeda_ was the only thought running through his head, but that wouldn't even be possible because he couldn't feel his limbs. She blinked, and the tears ran down her cheeks. "I'm not _scared_," she spat. "I'm not scared of people like him, I'm not crying because of that, I'm crying -" Her breath heaved and she scrubbed her cheeks with her palms.

"Because your pissed," Hikaru finished. Her eyes darted up to him. His heart ached to look at her bloodshot eyes. He burned her expression into his memory. "Because it feels like there's nothing you can do. Because it's the only thing you can do."

She blinked again. Two more tears followed. It took everything in his power to not wrap her in a hug. He touched her elbow instead and they stopped walking. "I'm the same way. Had a cry like that not too long ago. I'm sorry. I couldn't... possibly understand what you've been put through. But the reaction, that I get."

The tension around her eyes softened. She swallowed. "I'm sorry." She wiped her face with her hand again. "Terrible first date."

"Terrible start to a first date," he corrected. "But not because of either one of us. It will be my fault when I eat so many crepes the seams on these pants start ripping."

She snorted, then covered her mouth, but not before he could see the corners of her mouth turn up. Then, she took a breath and her expression leveled. "I always wanna eat to make myself feel better. Which is the worst, because if I gain too much weight, it tanks my career too. Can't win."

His eyes widened. "How about... we walk around so much afterward it's not an issue?" _How is she ever supposed to win?_

She furrowed her brow. "You wanna stroll around Tokyo in leather pants and boots with heels?"

He nodded. "While you taunt me the whole time about how comfortable you are."

Her smile tugged at his heart. "Okay. Let's get crepes." She clapped a hand over his and tugged him along.


	12. Don't Waste Time

Hikaru was lucky that Ren picked up on the first ring. He might have lost his nerve otherwise. "Tsuruga, you had an offer for a historical drama come up, right?"

"Among other offers. Weighing a few options."

"Is there a producer on it called Ikeda?"

"What are you driving at, Ishibashi?"

"Don't take it. I'm asking you as a favor."

"Ishibashi." Ren's tone took on a growl. "Why?"

"Please," was all he could say.

"I'm not saying 'no'. But if you are attempting to influence my career, and just so recently after your date, I'm no fool."

"It's not for me to say."

"I'll set up a meeting with President Takarada. His office is the most secure place I can think of in Tokyo."

"She doesn't want to be seen as a troublemaker." _Shit!_

"I give you my personal guarantee that is not how the president will treat her. It doesn't sound like anyone at LME should be associated with this production, and the order will need to come from the president himself."

"How do you know that?"

"I've never heard you so serious in my life, Ishibashi. Solemn is rarely your style."

"Our lives haven't crossed paths for that long, Tsuruga."

"I'm a quick study. And I believe you'll be able to convince her to attend the meeting."

"I'll do my best."

"That will be more than enough."

* * *

President Takarada's elbows rested on his desk, hands folded in front of his mouth. Hikaru wouldn't have thought it was possible for his face to be so sober, but his countenance at that time did suggest that his title suggested. A president had duties.

Hikaru, Momose, and Ren sat on the couch across from his desk. Hikaru would have reached out to hold Momose's hand, but hers were balled into fists and pressed into her thighs. Her expression was flat as if she had merely recounted facts instead of injustice. Tsuruga's face was a slate as well, and Hikaru could have screamed. _Actors. Withholding that much is cheating._

"I appreciate your candor, Momose-san. Take confidence in the fact that I do not tolerate the exploitation of actors, regardless if they are part of my agency." Takarada's gaze shifted to Ren. "Let's tackle the easy hurdle first. Your Lotus offer, how do you want to handle it? Straight refusal?"

Ren crossed his arms. "Initially, with room for interpretation that it's a staffing conflict. If the director decides to dig into the reason, and reaches out to you for an explanation, make it clear that Ikeda's removal will change my answer."

Momose and Hikaru stared at Ren in shock. Takarada chuckled. "You'll age Konoe five years making him wait on an answer about that other, special project."

"Konoe will survive. Besides, isn't there some other hotshot he hired for the protagonist? Make him the antagonist," Ren said.

"Tsuruga-kun, I did not consent to this meeting for you to take pity on me," Momose growled. "It is a professional courtesy, to avoid you from being associated with someone like that."

"People like that don't belong in the industry," Ren pushed back. "I have the information, and I will act on it."

Hikaru gave him a suspicious look. "Is this another thing about Kyoko-chan? Cleaning house before she turns eighteen?"

Tsuruga shot daggers at him.

"Ishibashi," Takarada warned. "Ren, Momose-san was honest with you. You owe her."

Ren exhaled. "When I was sixteen, I was extended an offer, that would have risen my profile considerably. But the director attempted to make the offer contingent." His eyes grew distant. _He's hiding._ Hikaru dug his nails into his palms. "I punched the director and left."

"And appeared in my office, crying his eyes out. _Lamenting_ that he just ruined an opportunity to achieve his goals." Takarada's eyes narrowed in a way that made Hikaru's palms sweat. "That director is now head of cleaning windshields at some gas station outside of Osaka. I obliterated his career. Made show-business an inhospitable environment for him to exist in."

He sat up straighter and softened his gaze as he looked at Momose. "It will be more difficult to wheedle out Ikeda, especially if they don't investigate Ren's refusal. But this is not the first time I've dealt with people of that sort. I have a list, Momose-san. A list that I keep fastidious tabs on to ensure nothing that LME does supports them."

Momose's fists pressed harder into her lap. "He'll know it was me. I'll be labeled a troublesome actor, Mr. President. Someone not worth the effort. Not even my agent thinks it's worth taking it to the president of my agency because of what it could do to my reputation."

"Then join my agency," he said with a wave of his hand. "Agents would clamor at the opportunity to support you, Momose-san. I can protect you and keep your name out of it, but that will bind my hands to an extent."

Momose stared at her hands. The president continued, "Mizuki is art. Mizuki is your creation, and people like Ikeda are using it as a weapon against you. It taints your creation. It makes you scared to take risks with your art again. It's like snapping a painter's brush. Take her back, Momose-san."

She looked up, but her gaze went to Hikaru. She was worried. "It could drag you, too. He caught you with me."

"So be it," Hikaru said, leg bouncing. "You want to fight, so do I." He looked to Ren and Takarada. "And based on who we have on our side, I feel pretty confident."

"Okay," Momose said. "But, if things do happen, I need reassurance I'm getting the best of the best from your pool of agents."

Takarada laughed. "Yashiro might abandon you, Ren-kun."

Ren smirked. "The things I risk for justice."

"Momose-san, you alluded that Ikeda is not the only one to abuse Mizuki." Takarada grabbed a pen.

Momose looked to Hikaru. Ren walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll be right outside."

"Thank you," she said. Confused, Hikaru followed Ren out.

When the door closed behind them, Ren said, "She still has her pride, Ishibashi-kun. She doesn't want to only be a victim in your eyes."

"Does Kyoko-chan know about what happened to you?" Hikaru asked, stomach churning.

"There's a lot of things Kyoko doesn't know. A lot of things I don't want to be in her eyes," he said in a mournful tone

_Fair enough._ "I'm glad I know about Itsumi. I mean, I hate what happened but... it's good to see her more completely."

He raised an eyebrow. "Itsumi, huh?"

"Do _not_ tell her," Hikaru warned. "Just let me have the moment, okay? I kinda put my career at stake too, ya know. Little less secure than you, Tsuruga. I take jobs to stay relevant, not cultivate a perfect persona."

Ren laughed, pressing his palm to his head. "So, tell me about this job that you may or may not be taking," Hikaru prompted. "It's just called 'Lotus'? Bit on the nose to ask a dude named 'Ren'."

He leaned against the wall. "You're now interested in historical dramas?"

"I'm interested in not thinking about how long her list is."

Ren nodded. "I believe they settled on 'A Lotus in the Mud' as the title. Revolves around the story of a ronin who saves an upperclassman's daughter and they fall in love. I believe Momose was referring to that role, which I could see. It's not uncommon to tap acting pairs with proven track records. Though she could be referring to ninja whose loyal to the ronin, loves him and finds the lady a rival for his affection."

Hikaru raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like a perfect opportunity for Takarada to do some meddling and make Kyoko-chan the ninja."

Ren grinned. "Being his favorite can have advantages."

The door opened and Momose gave one last parting wave before turning to Ren. "I appreciate the support, Tsuruga-kun. And your continued discretion?"

"Of course. It's a personal cause for me as well." He pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Are you in the loop on Shinichi's bet? He says he's ready to present his guess tomorrow."

She looked at Hikaru. "I am not! You'll have to brief me during karaoke."

Hikaru smiled. "Easy enough. Ya know, in between rocking your socks off."

"Two dates in one week?" Tsuruga asked, impressed.

"Some of us don't waste time, Tsuruga," Hikaru jabbed.

Momose reached out and held Hikaru's hand. His nerves lit on fire. "If you saw him in those leather pants, you'd have said 'Yes', too."

"I only wish you'd have taken pictures," Ren quipped

Hikaru's cheeks started burning. "Unless you're joining us in the very private karaoke booth, Tsuruga, we'll be leaving now. Say your goodbyes to the Porsche!"

As they left, Tsuruga's laugh echoed through the halls. It's mirthful tone morphed into something more sinister. Momose shivered. "That's kind of terrifying."

"Exactly," Hikaru said. "But makes an excellent transition to the bet..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might be taking some wiiiillld liberties with the canonical timeline based on the discussion of Ren's offers, but even picturing Ren, Kyoko, and Momose in Lotus together is just to fun not to put out there xD


	13. Impeccable Methodology

As the list of guests for Shinichi's guess grew, Ren opted to host the party as his apartment. It was a "Party" because he sent a mass message to everyone invited that he would be providing food and drink to accompany the night's entertainment. The recipients included Kyoko. When Hikaru saw that, he felt an older version of himself bristle for just a moment before he smiled. _ He's showing her a different side of him. That's nice. Besides, I finally get to see how the most famous actor in Tokyo lives. _

When Hikaru and Momose arrived, they paused in the doorway for a moment to absorb the scene. Shinichi was in the expansive living room, setting up an easel. Posters covered in a black sheet laid on the round coffee table. Black furniture and cream-colored walls lent to the sense of minimalism and luxury.

An island separated the kitchen and the living room, and Kyoko was scolding Ren as he laid out plates and napkins among the takeout food. "I could have cooked, Tsuruga-san! This food has zero nutritional value!"

Ren gave her a bemused look. "At least there is food, Mogami-san, and plenty of it. Do I get no credit for that?" He looked over to Hikaru and Momose. "Come in! Once everyone arrives we can eat, but help yourself to a drink." He gestured to a series of bowls on the counter filled with beverages on ice. Mostly beer and chuhai, but Hikaru thought he spotted a few bottles of white wine in the collection as well.

"Don't mind if I do, thank you Tsuruga-kun!" Momose said and started looking through the various colored cans.

"Thanks for the feast, man," Hikaru said, looking over the food. "I didn't know you had it in you."

Kyoko pointed a finger at Hikaru. "You! You're the reason he eats like this! I had him eating good food before - "

Hikaru shrugged. "At least he's feeding himself." Momose pressed a beer into Hikaru's hand and resumed her search.

"Mogami-san, can't we table discussions of my dietary habits for the evening and just enjoy the company of our friends?" Tsuruga was flexing the tab on his beer can back and forth. "Have a drink, at least."

She groaned. "It's all alcohol, Tsuruga-san, I don't think that's a good idea when - "

"Ah ha!" Momose exclaimed and turned around. She extended a pink and yellow colored can to Kyoko. "Peach and strawberries. It was my favorite when I first started drinking."

Kyoko looked at it skeptically.

"One drink. And partake in Tsuruga-kun's lovely feast, and you'll be just fine. Trust your beloved senpais, Kyoko-chan." Momose's voice was liquid sweetness. _She could make me do terrible things with that voice._ Hikaru swallowed. If eyes could smirk, Tsuruga's were.

Kyoko took the can. "Just one." She cracked it open and took a drink. Her expression lit up. "It - it takes like juice!" she exclaimed. "It's just the perfect amount of sweetness and fruit with the smallest hint of coconut." She gave Momose an adoring look. "I'll never doubt you again!"

Momose grinned. "Good!" She cracked open her own lime chuhai. Shortly, a knock at the door proceeded Yashiro and Yuusei entering the apartment. They barely waved when Shinichi said, "I have assembled the evidence! Please, do whatever preparations you need before I begin. Once I'm on a roll, I am not stopping this car, even for bathroom breaks!"

The guests loaded up their plates and found seating on the L-shaped couch. Somehow, Tsuruga ended up sitting on the armrest next to Kyoko. Momose gave them a quick glance, then looked at Hikaru with an incredulous expression. She patted the space between their seats and gave him a curious look. Unable to keep up with her charades, he snuck his phone out from under his plate and quickly texted, _"She's got cooties?"_ on his screen and flashed it to her. She suppressed a snort before taking a drink. Hikaru deleted the message and popped a chicken wing in his mouth.

Shinichi took a drink of his beer, sat in on the table, and cleared his throat. "Folks, I want to start the evening off by thanking everyone for attending and witnessing what has to be, the culmination of the most extensive project I've worked on. As well as the least amount of thought Ren Tsuruga has put into any wager. Just to clarify, the background is that Ren Tsuruga flashed a terrifying smile that he has utilized for a role in the past -"

"That you assumed was from a role in the past," Ren corrected. "The closest thing I confirmed was that I have worked on a variety of characters. Continue." He stroked his chin.

Shinichi flinched. "Right. That you have a creepy character in your repertoire that, when performed, would have been underneath a stage name. And if I determine where that character has appeared, I get to borrow the Porsche for a day."

"And, if your wrong, I get a favor," Tsuruga added. Kyoko looked up to Ren curiously, and he grinned.

"Again, right," Shinichi said. "Now, there's not exactly an impartial judge for this, but we do have Tsuruga's manager to confirm or deny. You have been his manager throughout his career, have you not, Yashiro?"

Yashiro nodded solemnly. "Ever since Ren Tsuruga has been an actor in Japan, I have been his manager. I have an encyclopedic memory of his work."

"Perfect. Now, for those who weren't present, I have drawn a representation of what the smile looked like, for context." Shinichi tore the sheet away to display the first poster. It looked more like a Jack-o-lantern with shojo anime boy hair than a human.

"Entirely inaccurate," Ren said. He put his plate and beer down and stood next to Shinichi. He bent his head for a moment, and then his jaw jutted up. A menacing glee exposed vicious teeth, his eyes open and wild, moving ever so slightly as if looking for his next victim. The girls shrieked. The guys balked. Ren took a short bow and returned to his armrest. "Continue."

"Okay!" Shinichi recovered. "The smile in question. So, finding out an actor's stage name is a challenge, especially with one who has been working since he was fifteen. But, there are ways to narrow it down." He removed the Jack-o-lantern and displayed the next one. It was a timeline, starting on one end when Tsuruga was age fifteen and ending at age 21. "Six years is a long time to dive into, but what we're really looking for is the gaps in between roles. Timeframes were it would be conceivable to jam in another appearance." He pointed to a bright red string, one end attached on the timeline, the other on a pin six inches away. "Red strings indicate moves. Movies require a couple of months of work, so that takes out a chunk of time. TV appearances use yellow strings, as they tend to take less time. Anything out of the country has a star on the pinhead, indicating it'd be more difficult to travel and take up more time. Blue strings indicate press appearances, and then are connected in relation to the film or TV show being promoted."

The board was a mess of colored strings tied along the timeline. Hikaru's mouth fell open. "If this is what you're capable of, I should have put your to work back when we didn't have an agent."

Yashiro nodded. "Impressive, very impressive... quite frankly, I haven't seen such a dedication to making a chronology of Ren's work in a long time, and believe me, he's received many."

"They were usually more photo-based," Ren explained. "Not quite so akin to a cop mapping out locations of murders."

"But, there definitely are gaps," Kyoko said, pointing to a few places on the board. "They could just be vacations, but I do see spaces of interest."

Shinichi grinned. "Bingo!" He pulled out a series of push-pins with question marks taped on the back of them and placed them in eight different locations on the board. "I cross-referenced these with the potential filming windows of productions that had particularly sinister characters and were released a few months later, limiting them to ones with critical acclaim or were notably mentioned in the news - I'm not too proud to admit that our boy has skills. Based on that, there's only one logical conclusion." He pointed to the fifth pushpin on the board. "This time frame. You were still in Tokyo at the time, freshly seventeen." Shinichi pulled a sheet from behind the poster and pinned it in the center. "The TV drama Broken Bridges, season one episode seven. You played the titular Bully in the Hoodie." He reached into his bag and pulled out a DVD case. "I can prove it, too, unless you confess."

Yashiro gave a low whistle. "The methodology is impeccable."

Ren began clapping slowly. "Incredible. You even got the time frame right."

Shinichi crossed his arms. "Don't play coy, I got you! Good luck trying to prove otherwise after everyone watches the episode."

Yashiro went to his bag by the door. "I do feel for you, Ishibashi-kun. You've put in so much effort, so much excellent work." He pulled out a DVD and magazine.

"No," Shinichi whispered, and the room gasp, aside from Ren. He smirked. "Now, I will confess that the majority of the creepiness comes from my preparations for a different role, one in light of recent events, I may not be taking. However, the 'beta' version of this character, if you will, came to be in South Korea."

Yashiro laid a copy of Blinding Light, the cover art showing two elementary school girls holding hands and running through a field. Next to it, he placed a magazine open to a picture taken on set. Ren continued, "The film itself is about two children sharing an imaginary friend that turns evil. Considering that the advertising for the film buried that fact, many parents took their children to see it only to walk out when things turned dark, and it tanked in the box office."

Hikaru leaned over to examine the magazine closer. The article was titled, "Blindsided: How Poor Advertising Traumatized the Soul of Seoul" and even though he was in the background, Ren's stature, watch, and necklace were unmistakable. _Was the watch broken even then?_ The remaining witnesses joined him and studied the picture. Hikaru looked up and said softly, "I'm sorry, Shin-chan."

Shinichi shook his head vigorously. "No, no way, absolutely not." He grabbed the magazine, looked at the picture, and looked at Ren. He mimed pulling out a katana from his imaginary sword belt and pointed it at his belly.

Ren stood and put a hand on the hilt. "Put away your blade. You still have to complete my favor." Shinichi reluctantly dropped his sword and the magazine.

"I have a convention coming up in the next few months, and while the staff does their best to keep the VIP passageways secure, it's not always sufficient. The best means of security, then, is subterfuge. You'll be my decoy, wearing clothing in my style and a wig to draw attention away from my movements."

Shinichi frowned. "Nobody's ever going to believe I'm you."

"They don't have to believe it," Yashiro pointed out. "They only have to think it's a possibility, just for a moment, to make them change course."

"You get to spend all day disappointing women," Ren added.

Shinichi sunk to his knees. "But that's already my life. Women would already always prefer me to be Ren Tsuruga!"

Ren clapped him on the shoulder. "Then you've already got experience." He looked up to the couch. "Now, whose interested in watching a perfectly adequate horror film?"

Everybody was, even Shinichi when he found the motivation to get off of the floor. It was a perfectly fine movie, the children were charming and interesting, but after a while the story seemed to drag on as they waited for the imaginary friend, always more of a hazy apparition than another human in the scene, to turn evil.

During a lull, Kyoko and Momose made their way to the restroom to wash up after their meal of finger foods. Hikaru thought he knew where another bathroom was, but took a wrong turn and nearly ended up in with them as they talked. He dodged into the bedroom instead.

_Dammit! This makes it seem like I'm trying to eavesdrop._

Momose chuckled. "I'm jealous, I wish I got to see him at work more. He seems passionate, but not just for his own work. He wants everyone to succeed."

"He is so great at work! Definitely a team player, that's for sure," Kyoko said.

_All hail Tsuruga._

"I feel bad for never accepting his invitations in the past. It seems like he's done a lot for Tsuruga-san just by being his friend," Kyoko continued.

_Oh._ He wanted to run away now, but there was nowhere else he could go with greasy hands. _Kitchen! Duh, why didn't I use the kitchen sink?_

"I agree, Tsuruga-kun was always kind on set, but never... this personable, ya know? It's fun to see this side of him. Oh, and speaking of which, what's with the '-san'?"

"He's my respected senpai! He's done so much for me that I couldn't possibly be rude."

Hikaru could practically picture the arch in Momose's eyebrow and the purse of her lips. "Mhm. Or it's another piece of subterfuge. Which, I don't blame you, it'd be insanely difficult to date someone in his position. I promise to keep your secret."

"There - there's no secret! And someone like him would never date someone like me. I don't even know who he's dating right now!"

Momose sighed. "Oh dear. Kyoko-chan, you saw that board, right? He works constantly. And you saw that it was even more clustered in the last few years? It doesn't leave a lot of time to date. And if he's your teacher, you definitely take up a good amount of his time. You'd know if there was another woman. Which means there's no_ '_other' woman, just the one he chooses to spend time with."

"Don't say it like that!" Kyoko whined, a tinge of despair in her voice. Even the implication seemed to pain her. 

_Screw it, I gotta go._ As quietly as he could, he bolted away and dodged into the kitchen. To his ultimate fortune, one of the children was ripping the limbs off of her doll, a perfect scene to keep the others distracted. He scrubbed his hands and grabbed another beer. _I'm not made for subterfuge. Actors will be the death of me. _He took a long drink.


	14. In The Middle Of This

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic at it's core will always be a song fic, so I highly recommend playing [Slow Elvis by The LaFontaines](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWeVlTtHtsk) at the incredibly obvious time to do so. Also, I'm not a drummer, so be gentle!

One of Momose's former co-stars performed a routine on aerial silks that left the audience breathless for the latest crossover challenge. After the obligatory group photo, Hikaru escorted Momose to her agent's car. The rain was pouring, so he used his jacket to cover them as much as possible. "Get an umbrella!" she teased as she opened the door to the car. She spared a moment to give him a quick peck on the cheek before dodging into the car. Stunned, he managed a quick wave, but in the process, let go of his coat. She snorted, covered her mouth with her hand, and waved as the car drove away. Hikaru didn't feel the rain seeping into his clothes until he saw the license plate of the car in the distance.

He swore and picked his coat off of the ground, only to be blocked from the rain once again. He jumped and turned to see Kyoko standing next to him, holding an umbrella over the both of them. "Hikaru-kun!" she panted, catching her breath. "Glad I caught you! Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," he said, a little stilted. His cheek still felt warm despite how the rain had soaked him almost instantly. "Worried about the next challenge?"

She bit her lip and nodded. "I don't know what the President is thinking! It's ridiculous! And I'm ashamed for working with musicians for so long and having no idea if I can do this."

Hikaru nodded obligingly. The latest challenge was considered a "special," as every member of LoveMe would spend the next week working with the music division. "You'll be fine! And you seem to be able to wrangle the other girls so I'm sure you'll be a great leader. The department will be able to assess your skills and figure out who makes sense where in the ensemble." _ Takarada won't let you fail, Kyoko-chan. This whole thing was orchestrated because of you. _

She huffed. "That's what Tsuruga-san said! But if I can't find something to connect with, something that's really 'me', then won't it be shallow? I don't know what that is, and Tsuruga-san won't tell me what the inspiration was for picking your guys' song. What was it? What was the key?"

Hikaru raised an eyebrow. "I don't know if you'd believe me if I told you." _And I don't know if I would be forgiven._

"Hikaru-kun, _please!_ I don't know what else to do!" Her hands were starting to tremble, but the fire in his eyes told him that it was just the environment, not her spirits.

He shook his head. "Love is like the number one inspiration for things like this. You all are in the section dedicated to tapping into love, right? Just find a song that connects with that." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and wiped the screen. _Still working. Good._

"I can't do that!" she growled. "That's not a part of me anymore."

He scoffed before he could stop himself. She glared at him. It filled him with dread. "I -- I don't mean to be dismissive of your feelings, but..." He could practically see Momose chuckling at him once again. _ This is it. This is enough. I really don't need to be in the middle of this anymore. _ "Tsuruga's in love with you. And I had a crush on you for a while. That's why we picked that song. But I'm with Momose now and he's still confused about what to do about you. And I'd bet that you're confused about your feelings for him, too."

She froze. The fire in her eyes didn't die, per se, but it halted movement. It waited for something to snuff it out. "I've got no reason to lie!" he said, holding his hands up in the air. "You two have a connection, so I backed off. And..." He swore internally, but pressed, "I think if you can tap into that feeling, you'll knock us all out of the water. So you really shouldn't be afraid to think about that stuff because he feels the same. You're not gonna be rejected."

She turned abruptly and ran. He threw his coat over his head and texted Shinichi. _"Where's the car? I'm gonna DIE OUT HERE!"_

* * *

_"Free for lunch?_ "

_ "Oh, too slow. Kyoko-chan booked me to help her with the challenge. Jealous? :P" _

_"Absolutely."_

_"Dinner?"_

_"Absolutely."_

* * *

Hikaru decided that the only way to calm his nerves before seeing Momose was to practice drumming. It was never his forte, but there was something about throwing on a pair of headphones and pretending he could keep up with his favorite songs that filled him with a sense of stillness, despite how wild the song would get. The rhythm consumed him, so at least he didn't have to worry about what Kyoko was telling Momose and exactly how he would end up paying for it.

She wanted to see what his rehearsal space was like, so she insisted on picking him up. A red light flashed above the door and Momose slipped in. He pulled his headphones off and clutched his drumsticks. She looked around the fairly barren space and said, "Not bad... not quite as impressive as the space for the LME music department, though." Her dress was pink and skimmed her knees. _Not a bad way to die, at least._

Hikaru chuckled nervously. "Yeah, we're kinda just lucky we have a space to keep Yuusei's favorite drumset."

As she came closer, she seemed fine. _Actors are dirty cheaters._ "So... how was Kyoko-chan?"

She gave a bemused chuckle. "Kind of a mess, honestly. But I sorted her out after you flustered her to oblivion."

He sighed and hung his head. She came closer. "You know, it's kind of a relief that your crush was on Kyoko-chan. Her, I can compete with."

He jumped. She smiled softly. "I was convinced it was Tsuruga-kun for awhile." She shrugged. "Did you see your performance with him? Can you blame me?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I -- I guess that's not so strange. But... you know I'm over it, right? I'm not still hung up on it?"

She nodded. "I don't think you'd be so nice to Tsuruga if you weren't. And I know it was hard, but I think you were right to tell Kyoko. At a certain point, it's not your _thing_ to decide how it plays out." She touched his cheek. "Plus, you're not one for deception, so trying to keep it up wouldn't have ended well."

He nodded vehemently, which caused her soft fingertips to brush against his cheek. "I'm really not."

She cocked her head. "And you haven't even tried to kiss me yet, so I'm assuming you're just trying to be respectful? Not make a move too soon in reaction to losing Kyoko? Or to be some sort of 'hero' after the Ikeda incident?"

He nodded again. "Please, keep reading me like a book so I don't mess up an explanation."

She nodded, satisfied. "Honestly, I'm just giving you the most generous interpretation of your actions so far. And I think you've earned it, for the most part, so keep that in mind." She turned her attention to the drums. "So, what song are you playing?"

He fished out another pair of over-the-ear headphones and plugged it into the splitter. "Better idea. Help me play it." He scooted back on the stool, leaving a small piece in front of him to sit on. He could feel his ears burning as he offered, but she'd appreciated forwardness from the beginning.

She grinned and took her seat, pressing her back into his chest. _See, she wouldn't have fit if I were as massive as Ren Tsuruga. _ "Don't focus on the words, just focus on the rhythm and let me guide your movements." He gave her the headphones. She slipped them on and he tried to not think about what specific flowers her hair smelled like.

She held her palms out and he set the sticks in them. He helped her wrap delicate fingers around it, loosening her grip when she tried to clench them. "Keep it loose," he said and put his hands over the back of hers. He wiggled her hands and helped her feel the movement in her wrists. She nodded and he adjusted himself to wrap around her more completely.

He tapped the spacebar of his laptop with his foot and the song began. A slow buildup to start with, he guided her hands across the snares and toms as he worked the bass with his foot. She was stiff to start with, which he couldn't blame as she was trying to take an active role in learning the beat.

_"I'm a grown man, never be caught in a snapback,  
_ _Obey no hat or backpack, you caricatures get laughed at,"_

To her credit, she was picking it up quickly until the next verse added the cymbals.

_"Oppression is something I'm used to, violence,  
_ _Drugs and abuse too, crime is something I could do,"_

The speed of the rapping contrasting with the methodical, reverberating guitar didn't make it easy to keep up with the rhythm. She relinquished a bit of control to him, but he could feel in her movements her struggle to do so. She was trying to learn actively. But he wasn't able to teach her that way -- she had to let herself feel the song first.

There was no purpose in him trying to sing along -- with the headphones on, he couldn't possibly match the enunciation and speed of the lyrics. However, when the song hit:

_"Thousand people I don’t know,  
_ _And there’s fifteen others I don’t like," _

He opened his throat and indulged in singing, "Yeeeeaaaahh yeeeaaaaahhh ooohhh," in time with the song because it wasn't about getting it right, it was about letting the sound reverberate through his chest. She melted into his torso and let her arms be an extension of his. It let him add a bit of flair to each strike. Even when the song quieted to taps on the rim that crescendoed back to the previous tempo, her arms gave him no resistance. He peppered in calls of "Oh, oh, oh," and the weight of her chest made each breath a thrill.

Towards the end of the song, only when the drumbeat became more methodical itself did the tone of the song change to something more aggressive, hungry, before it cut out. When the song ended, she leaned her head against his shoulder and smiled. It took his breath away.


	15. A Moment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is, in the end, a song fic. [Lose Our Heads by YONAKA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOPVsA6Y2-c&list=RDyOPVsA6Y2-c&start_radio=1) is required listening. I don't make the rules, I just enforce them.
> 
> Who am I kidding? Of COURSE I make the rules. Why would I do this if I didn't?!

The rest of the week was fairly quiet, which meant that Hikaru anticipated chaos to reign at the latest Crossover Challenge. He and Momose found an empty dressing room to stow away in while the stage was being set. They were splitting a bento Hikaru had brought when Hikaru heard malevolent footsteps approaching their room. How he knew they were malevolent wasn't clear, until he realized who on earth could possibly produce such emotion with footsteps. He turned and looked at Momose, who was mid-bite. _How does a human look cute while eating?_ "I've really enjoyed our time together, Momose-chan. I'm sorry it's about to be cut short. I leave my guitar to you."

She raised an eyebrow as she chewed. It quickly descended when the waves of fury lapped at the doorway. She swallowed. "You haven't talked to Tsuruga-kun lately, have you?"

"I tried to hang out with him? But it took multiple texts before he said he was busy."

She stroked his cheek. "I'll weep at your funeral." She pointed to the bento. "Can I finish this?"

He shrugged. "No sense wasting it on a dead man."

Momose continued eating as Ren's shadow proceeded him into the room. Hikaru could have only wished Tsuruga's expression was akin to the frightening one that had been the subject of a bet not so long ago. No, this was the expression of a man who had stayed up several late nights with worry on his mind. And he was finally facing the cause of it.

"Good to see you, Momose-san. Could you give me and Ishibashi a moment?" His voice was a low rasp. His eyes were tired, but the smallest flame existed in them that filled Hikaru with dread.

To his mercy, Momose was still eating. She put a hand over her mouth as if to hide her chewing and pointed to the box. Then, she shrugged. Hikaru could have kissed her.

Tsuruga sighed. "Very well." He shifted his attention to Hikaru. Hikaru's stomach dropped. With barely contained anger, Tsuruga said, "I have cause to believe you've been talking about subjects with Mogami-san that aren't your concern."

"W -- well," Hikaru stammered. "She was really upset when I saw her and I didn't know what else to tell her to help her calm down."

Tsuruga's eyes went wide. "Calm down? You think dropping a bomb on someone like that is at all comforting? She won't _talk_ to me; she runs away the moment I enter her presence. How is she supposed to perform in this state when you're filling her head with --"

Tsuruga's diatribe was halted in its tracks when Momose snapped the lid back on the bento. "First of all, I spoke to her about her performance, and while she was nervous when we started talking, she was feeling confident when I left her, so don't use that as an excuse." She narrowed her eyes at Tsuruga. _"_And the reason she was having difficulty was that she was struggling to find an emotional connection with a song. Mostly because she didn't know what to _feel_. Because she was afraid that her feelings were _wrong._ And you being withholding with your feelings only makes that worse because she doesn't want to do something to drive you away!"

Tsuruga flinched. Hikaru's mind wasn't fully processing what was happening, but he knew well enough to not get in her way when she was riled up. She gestured to Hikaru. "Look at him! This sweet, honest boy sees the girl that he used to have a crush on in a personal and creative crisis, so how could he not give her the information she needed?"

She took a deep breath. "I know it's probably a questionable move friendship-wise, but it wasn't very nice of you to expect him to keep that secret, either."

The fire died from Tsuruga's eyes. He cocked an eyebrow at Momose. "You knew he had feelings for Kyoko?"

She rolled her eyes. "Not as early as I would have liked, but we talked about it. It's done! And you could sort it out with Kyoko too if you actually had the guts."

Tsuruga snorted. "Thoughts, Ishibashi?"

He tried to channel some of Momose's bravery. "I've invested too much in this friendship for you to chicken out now. And if things go bad, the guys know a thing or two about drinking beers in commiseration."

Tsuruga ran a hand down his face. "My world is on fire and all you act like it's only a little warm outside." He shook his head. "Very well. But if this does go poorly, you're picking up the tab." He turned and left.

"Can your wallet afford to get him drunk?" Momose asked with a chuckle. Hikaru knew he should have responded, but he was distracted. He was looking at her and the sparkle in her eyes. The way she had defended him made pink rise in her cheeks, and he wondered if he could get the color to darken.

"Hikaru-kun?"

"I really wanna kiss you," he blurted out. Actually hearing himself say the words made him light-headed.

She blushed. "W -- well, of course, you do, because I just stayed your execution so --"

He felt her breath hitch against his skin as he cupped her cheek. He leaned forward and kissed her, quickly but fiercely. He pulled away slightly, the heat of her lips still on his. He was truly dizzy now, head floating while irrefutably clinging to her. He stroked her cheek as if asking her a question, to which she answered by closing the distance and kissing him in return.

* * *

Ren's demeanor had only improved slightly by the time the lights went out over the audience. His leg bounced furiously as he sat between Yuusei and Hikaru. Hikaru had to stifle his own nervousness. It should have felt strange to be rooting for him, considering how they met. Considering exactly _why_ these challenges had been created in the first place. _I suppose if Lory's entertained, I've done my job. _He couldn't be too upset at the thought, all things considered.

A single spotlight illuminated Kyoko when the music began. She wore a bubblegum pink blazer that covered a black bandeau. Pink slacks were tucked into black combat boots. She gripped her mic stand as she looked down, bangs covering her eyes. It only then dawned on Hikaru that he didn't know if Kyoko could sing.

_"Have we all gone blind falling under the times?  
_ _Cooped up at home, too comfortable to go outside."_

_That's a yes, _ he thought as a smile crossed his face. Strong, not sweet, her stance mirrored her voice.

The lights rose on the whole band. Kotonami and Amamiya flanked her, the former on bass, latter on guitar. The drummer was head to toe in black -- a member of the music division to keep the tempo.

_"Never satisfied, too lazy to fight,"_

Her eyes flicked up and she glared at the audience.

_"Slowly brainwashed, we forgot how to live our lives."_

Kotonami remained as stoic as ever as she strummed. Amamiya let herself sway with a satisfied smirk on her face.

_"We can sleep when we're dead,  
_ _Yes, we could make a mess,  
_ _We don't do it now, then later,  
_ _Oh boy, we could regret,  
_ _We can, we can play instead,  
_ _Spin the hope that you made,  
_ _With no rules to follow, lose our innocence,"_

Kyoko let go of the mic stand and spun on a toe. When she faced the mic again, her expression had softened. Her eyes find the former challengers' seats and locked to Ren. Hikaru could practically feel Ren stiffen.

_"Teach me how to love,  
_ _I'm asking you to break my heart in half,  
_ _Drag me straight to Hell,  
_ _So I can know that Heaven exists as well,  
_ _Let's lose our heads."_

She ran her hands through her hair and Kotonami and Amamiya flanked her repeated, "_Lose our, lose our," _into the microphone.

Hikaru wouldn't have thought it was possible until this moment, but he could feel the effect her confession was having on Ren. _Second-hand earth-shattering? _ Ren was gripping his own thigh, his eyes soft. He bit his lip.

Hikaru was about to give him a congratulatory elbow in the side, but he saw a camera person swing around to better align with her gaze. Instead, he just nudged Ren with his knee. He heard Ren take a deep breath and plaster on a delighted smile, hiding the storm brewing inside.

Kotonami and Amamiya returned to their spots on the stage as Kyoko continued.

_ "No wasting time, get your appetite,  
_ _No one can touch us, we're the rulers of their lives,  
_ _The words I design so that they fool our eyes,  
_ _Making mistakes I own, we don't apologize."_

Momose and her former co-star were dancing in their seats in front of Ren and Hikaru, which Hikaru dearly hoped would take the focus for their section's reactions. It, at the very least, allowed Ren to focus on his composure. He needed it when she hit the bridge.

_"So come alive,  
_ _Take a little trip, meet the sky,  
_ _Don't live forever, but we've got to leave,  
_ _A roller coaster no one asked to ride."_

Her voice softened.

_"Teach me how to love,  
_ _I'm asking you to break my heart in half,  
_ _Drag me straight to Hell,  
_ _So I can know that Heaven exists as well,  
_ _Let's lose our heads, our heads.  
_ _Forget where we're from,  
_ _Leave this world behind, it's time to be reborn,  
_ _Let's lose our heads."_

Hikaru, Yuusei, and the girls stood to give their boisterous applause, long enough to hide Ren for a moment and give him time to run a hand through his hair. He shivered.

* * *

Last week's challengers couldn't join them that evening to celebrate, but Hikaru couldn't be too bothered by it, because the limousine Momose rented was going to be packed as-is. They waited in the parking garage by the limo. Hikaru, Momose, Shinichi, Yuusei, Chiori, Kanae, and even Moto were practically buzzing with anticipation. "My sister is in town and she's going to take care of the baby this evening so my wife can get some rest," Moto said. "Tonight, I get to let loose!"

Chiori, still in her costume from the performance, rolled her eyes. "Shouldn't it be your wife who gets to let loose?"

Kanae, back in her street clothes, shook her head. "Do not underestimate the importance of a good night's sleep when there are kids around."

Chiori furrowed her brow to pry more, but Shinichi cut her short by pointing in the distance. "He's here! Yashiro-san, status report!"

Yashiro chuckled and held his hands up. "They're in a dressing room together, still talking. No idea how long it'll last, but they are aware that their presence is required."

Hikaru led the group in a collective groan. He wrapped his arms around Momose. "I booked a _private room_! Time's a-wasting!" she moaned.

"Are we going to have an issue getting into the club with so many minors?" Moto asked.

Momose rolled her eyes. "They've been letting me into this club since I was seventeen; they're not going to shut me down now!"

"Are things at least seeming to go well?" Yuusei asked.

Yashiro pushed his glasses up his nose. "Tone seems appropriate. Unless something catastrophic happens I believe all will be well. Then again," he shrugged, "It is those two, so fifty-fifty." Giddiness bubbled under his cool demeanor. Kanae raised an eyebrow at him and he swallowed.

"Kotonami, Amamiya!" Shinichi said. "I love the wardrobe for your performance! Did you guys pick it or was that a Lory request?"

Kanae sighed. Chiori grinned. "Color choice was definitely predetermined, but the outfit is just a modification of the original music video."

"Ah, makes sense!" Shinichi made his way toward Chiroi. "You know what it reminds me of? There's a music video that I remember from a few summers ago..."

Hikaru leaned forward and rested his head on Momose's shoulder. Today she smelled like strawberries. She turned her head towards him slightly, "I've got an idea for your next date outfit."

"I thought you were all about leather?" he retorted.

"I know how to acquire pink leather," she purred. It sent a thrill through him.

"They're here!" Moto exclaimed. It broke through Hikaru's moment of indulgence and he turned his attention to the far end of the parking garage. Ren's towering figure seemed unsteady as he clutched Kyoko's hand. His cheeks flushed as he looked in the group's direction.

Kyoko seemed unsteady as well, face beet red and still wearing her costume. They ambled toward the group like newborn fawns, unsure but curious about what was beyond. She looked up to him and smiled sheepishly. He nodded.

Shinichi led the wolf whistles and Chiori the hollers as they approached. "Finally!" Hikaru yelled.

Yashiro fell to his knees. "I've been waiting for this for so long!"

Ren chuckled and shook his head when they were nearby. "Take mercy, please. Your insistence that we go out has not given Mogami-san a chance to --"

"Mogami-san?!" Momose whined. "Give us a break!"

Ren gave her a quick look, and Kyoko gave him a tentative nod. "Very well. Kyoko-chan!"

The group let out a cheer. "Let's get going, into the limo!" Moto exclaimed. He opened the door and slid into the back.

Kanae notably hung back to help Yashiro off of the ground, her hand lingering on his in a way that Hikaru noted to tell Momose later on.

"Ishibashi-kun," Ren said. "A moment?"

Hikaru gave Momose a squeeze. She flashed him a smile and put a hand on Kyoko's shoulder. "I am _so excited_ you're still in costume, it's the perfect party energy!" Kyoko chuckled and the girls entered the limo.

With the rest of the group tucked away, Ren said, "I should apologize. I was rude, and --"

Hikaru shook his head. "Shit happens. I kinda messed up too so can we just --"

"Skip this part?" he finished. "I'll buy you a beer if you buy me one."

"Done," Hikaru smiled. "Now get in that limo before our girlfriends take off without us."

Ren's laugh echoed through the parking garage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHH yeah this is the final chapter! Honestly, this fic lasted so much longer than I ever anticipated, and I can't tell you how much it means to me how well it was received! It warms the cockles of my heart how much how well a fic about FRIENDSHIP was received! Also, a fiction where I took my weird adoration for this side character just because he happened to be voiced by Kyle McCarley (9S, Shigeo Kageyama, the Gatekeeper?!) to a place where I ran wild with his character... and people STAYED TUNED FOR THAT?! That's wild, folks, and I couldn't be happier.
> 
> I can't lie, I am extremely attached to the bonds that developed during this fic. Giving Ren people in his life that are just THERE for him because they just like him as a human is hard to give up, and I can't guarantee that I won't revisit this AU in the future. The idea of a Lotus or a Dark Moon movie with everything that was established in this fic is very tempting, especially from Ren's perspective! 
> 
> But I don't know when that could possibly be. I've got a lot of WIPs and a lot of ideas to help build my fiction, original and fan-oriented, so if your horniness for male friendships still hasn't been satisfied, SUBSCRIBE TO MY USER ACCOUNT! Scroll to the top, click my username, click subscribe, DONE! If the boys are back in town, that's the best way to make sure you're in the know.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Boy Talk](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21503095) by [AkisMusicBox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkisMusicBox/pseuds/AkisMusicBox)


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